Craniofacial development: a summing up

Development ◽  
1988 ◽  
Vol 103 (Supplement) ◽  
pp. 245-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Wolpert

It is convenient to distinguish between three related problems in development: cell differentiation; pattern formation, which is about spatial organization; and morphogenesis in the strict sense, which is about change in form, particularly of cell sheets, but includes cell migration (Wolpert, 1981; Wolpert & Stein, 1984). All these need to be linked to gene action. If one looks forward over the next five to ten years then the future of craniofacial biology lies in molecular cell biology. This is not to say that all the problems at the tissue level have been solved, quite the contrary, but rather that the emphasis must now be at the cell and molecular level. One can illustrate some of the problems of cell differentiation – and the approaches involved – with the differentiation of the cells of the haemopoietic system. Here we have a stem cell that can give rise to all the different types of blood cell.

Author(s):  
K. Jacobson ◽  
A. Ishihara ◽  
B. Holifield ◽  
F. Zhang

Our laboratory is concerned with understanding the dynamic structure of the plasma membrane with particular reference to the movement of membrane constituents during cell locomotion. In addition to the standard tools of molecular cell biology, we employ both fluorescence recovery after photo- bleaching (FRAP) and digitized fluorescence microscopy (DFM) to investigate individual cells. FRAP allows the measurement of translational mobility of membrane and cytoplasmic molecules in small regions of single, living cells. DFM is really a new form of light microscopy in that the distribution of individual classes of ions, molecules, and macromolecules can be followed in single, living cells. By employing fluorescent antibodies to defined antigens or fluorescent analogs of cellular constituents as well as ultrasensitive, electronic image detectors and video image averaging to improve signal to noise, fluorescent images of living cells can be acquired over an extended period without significant fading and loss of cell viability.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 149
Author(s):  
Sarah-Maria Wege ◽  
Katharina Gejer ◽  
Fabienne Becker ◽  
Michael Bölker ◽  
Johannes Freitag ◽  
...  

The phytopathogenic smut fungus Ustilago maydis is a versatile model organism to study plant pathology, fungal genetics, and molecular cell biology. Here, we report several strategies to manipulate the genome of U. maydis by the CRISPR/Cas9 technology. These include targeted gene deletion via homologous recombination of short double-stranded oligonucleotides, introduction of point mutations, heterologous complementation at the genomic locus, and endogenous N-terminal tagging with the fluorescent protein mCherry. All applications are independent of a permanent selectable marker and only require transient expression of the endonuclease Cas9hf and sgRNA. The techniques presented here are likely to accelerate research in the U. maydis community but can also act as a template for genome editing in other important fungi.


Blood ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 89 (11) ◽  
pp. 3897-3908 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunxiang Du ◽  
David A. Williams

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (147) ◽  
pp. 20180492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xunjie Yu ◽  
Raphaël Turcotte ◽  
Francesca Seta ◽  
Yanhang Zhang

Microstructural deformation of elastic lamellae plays important roles in maintaining arterial tissue homeostasis and regulating vascular smooth muscle cell fate. Our study unravels the underlying microstructural origin that enables elastic lamellar layers to evenly distribute the stresses through the arterial wall caused by intraluminal distending pressure, a fundamental requirement for tissue and cellular function. A new experimental approach was developed to quantify the spatial organization and unfolding of elastic lamellar layers under pressurization in mouse carotid arteries by coupling physiological extension–inflation and multiphoton imaging. Tissue-level circumferential stretch was obtained from analysis of the deformation of a thick-walled cylinder. Our results show that the unfolding and extension of lamellar layers contribute simultaneously to tissue-level deformation. The inner lamellar layers are wavier and unfold more than the outer layers. This waviness gradient compensates the larger tissue circumferential stretch experienced at the inner surface, thus equalizing lamellar layer extension through the arterial wall. Discoveries from this study reveal the importance of structural inhomogeneity in maintaining tissue homeostasis through the arterial wall, and may have profound implications on vascular remodelling in aging and diseases, as well as in tissue engineering of functional blood vessels.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document