Collaborative Project: Physical Mechanisms of Morphogenesis

9317933 Forgacs拟议的研究代表了一个名为“形态发生的物理机制”的合作项目。组织形态发生是在胚胎中建立身体及其各种器官的形态，并通过这个过程带来成人的正常和不正常的变化，如伤口愈合和肿瘤侵袭。这一合作项目的两位PI，纽约医学院的Stuart Newman和Clarkson大学的Gabor Forgacs建议继续一项跨学科研究计划，这项研究的理念是，组织的一般物理属性，如表面张力、界面张力和粘度，对组织的形态发生行为有重要贡献。将分析含有悬浮细胞或具有特定表面涂层的细胞大小的胶乳颗粒的模型间充质组织，其表面和界面张力和粘度取决于基质的组成和大分子浓度，以及悬浮细胞或颗粒的单位体积数量和表面特征。模型矩阵中界面驱动的细胞运输(“基质驱动的易位”)将被用作研究形态发生特性对物理和组成变量的依赖关系的工具。来自禽类胚胎的活间充质组织混合或形成不混溶边界的能力，将与细胞外纤维网络的存在和这种网络的实验破坏相关。将开发一个理论框架来解释模型组织的物理、成分和微观形态之间的关系，以及它们形成界面、流动和展示其他形态发生变化的能力。***

9317933 Forgacs The proposed research represents a collaborative project entitled "Physical Mechanisms of Morphogenesis". Tissue morphogenesis is the process by which the form of the body and its various organs is established in the embryo, and by which normal and abnormal changes in the adult, such as wound healing and tumor invasion, are brought about. The two PIs on this collaborative project, Stuart Newman (New York Medical College) and Gabor Forgacs (Clarkson University) propose to continue a program of interdisciplinary studies on the idea that 'generic' physical properties of tissue, such as surface tension, interfacial tension, and viscosity contribute importantly to the tissue's morphogenetic behaviors. Model mesenchymal tissue containing suspended cells, or cell-sized latex particles with specific surface coatings, will be analyzed with respect to the dependence of their surface and interfacial tension and viscosity on the composition and macromolecular concentration of the matrix, as well as the number per volume and surface characteristics of the suspended cells or particles. Interfacially-driven cell transport in model matrices ('matrix-driven translocation') will be used as a tool to study the dependence of morphogenetic properties on physical and compositional variables. The ability of living mesenchymal tissue derived from avian embryos to mix, or to form boundaries of immiscibility, will be correlated with the presence of networks of extracellular fibers and the experimental disruption of such networks. A theoretical framework will be developed for interpreting the relationship among physical, compositional, and microscopic morphology of model tissues, and their capacity to form interfaces, to flow, and to exhibit other morphogenetic changes. ***