Mechanical Tension Drives Elongational Growth of the Embryonic Gut

During embryonic development, most organs are in a state of mechanical compression because they grow in a confined and limited amount of space within the embryo’s body; the early gut is an exception because it physiologically herniates out of the coelom. We demonstrate here that physiological hernia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific reports 2018-04, Vol.8 (1), p.5995-10, Article 5995
Main Authors: Chevalier, Nicolas R., de Witte, Tinke-Marie, Cornelissen, Annemiek J. M., Dufour, Sylvie, Proux-Gillardeaux, Véronique, Asnacios, Atef
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
13/1
13/106
13/51
14/63
631/136/2060
639/766/747
Cell culture
Cell number
Cell proliferation
Compression
Development Biology
Embryogenesis
Embryonic growth stage
Hernia
Hernias
Humanities and Social Sciences
Life Sciences
Mesentery
Morphology
multidisciplinary
Physiology
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Small intestine
Stomach
Tension
Umbilical cord
Umbilicus
Veins & arteries
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Summary:During embryonic development, most organs are in a state of mechanical compression because they grow in a confined and limited amount of space within the embryo’s body; the early gut is an exception because it physiologically herniates out of the coelom. We demonstrate here that physiological hernia is caused by a tensile force transmitted by the vitelline duct on the early gut loop at its attachment point at the umbilicus. We quantify this tensile force and show that applying tension for 48 h induces stress-dependent elongational growth of the embryonic gut in culture, with an average 90% length increase (max: 200%), 65% volume increase (max: 160%), 50% dry mass increase (max: 100%), and 165% cell number increase (max: 300%); this mechanical cue is required for organ growth as guts not subject to tension do not grow. We demonstrate that growth results from increased cell proliferation when tension is applied. These results outline the essential role played by mechanical forces in shaping and driving the proliferation of embryonic organs.
ISSN:2045-2322
2045-2322
DOI:10.1038/s41598-018-24368-1