Analysis of adhesive properties of embryonic cells during zebrafish gastrulation

在脊椎动物中，当具有不同身份的细胞彼此分离并分类成不同的组织（胚层）时，胃肠道形成构成了发育的第一个过程。已经假定形成胚层-外胚层、中胚层和内胚层-的细胞之间的差异细胞粘附在胚层形成和分离中起重要作用。但目前还没有明确的实验证据，定量描述胚层细胞不同的粘附特性。因此，我们将通过使用原子力显微镜来确定来自形成胚层的单细胞的粘附。我们将测试这些细胞与不同粘附分子（如E-钙粘蛋白和纤连蛋白）修饰的基质的粘附（细胞-基质粘附）以及单个胚层细胞相互粘附（细胞-细胞粘附）。我们期望从这些实验中获得的结果将提供深入了解细胞粘附的作用，在脊椎动物原肠胚形成的胚层形成。

Gastrulation in vertebrates constitutes the first process in development when cells with different identities separate from each other and sort into distinct tissues (germ layers). Differential cell adhesion between cells of the forming germ layers – ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm – has been postulated to play an important role in germ layer formation and separation. However, there is no clear experimental evidence yet, which quantitatively describes the different adhesive properties of germ layer cells. We therefore will determine the adhesion of single cells from the forming germ layers by using atomic force microscopy. We will test both the adhesion of these cells to substrates decorated with different adhesion molecules such as E-cadherin and fibronectin (cell-substrate adhesion) and the adhesion of single germ layer cells to each other (cell-cell adhesion). We expect that the results obtained from these experiments will provide insight into the role of cell adhesion for germ layer formation during vertebrate gastrulation.