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BP: Fachverband Biologische Physik
BP 17: Poster Session II
BP 17.78: Poster
Dienstag, 18. März 2025, 18:00–20:30, P4
Investigating the mechanosensitive expression of sema3A and slit1 in hydrogel-embedded neuroepithelial cells — •Niklas Gampl1,2 and Kristian Franze1,2,3 — 1Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, Erlangen, Germany — 2Institute of Medical Physics and Microtissue Engineering, Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Erlangen, Germany — 3Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
During brain development, neurons extend long axons that grow along well-defined pathways to their destination. This axon pathfinding is regulated by chemical guidance cues, which are produced by neuroepithelial cells, and by tissue stiffness. To investigate whether environmental stiffness regulates the expression of chemical guidance cues in the developing brain, we developed a framework to culture Xenopus tissue explants in collagen-based hydrogels with tunable stiffness. We found an increase in sema3A and slit1 mRNA levels in hypothalamic neuroepithelial tissue cultured in stiff hydrogels (G’ = 450 Pa) compared to soft hydrogels (G’ = 40 Pa). Additionally, 3D traction force microscopy revealed that strain energy, generated by the explants and stored in the matrix, increased with stiffness. These findings highlight a mechanochemical mechanism linking tissue stiffness to chemical guidance cue expression. Further investigation could improve our understanding of the complex interplay between guidance cues and their integration by cells.
Keywords: Mechanobiology; Axon pathfinding; Hydrogels; 3D traction force microscopy; Xenopus laevis