ArticlePloS one2010
Surprisingly simple mechanical behavior of a complex embryonic tissue.
Article in PloS one, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 39 papers.
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Who cites it
39 citing papers in PubMed, 68 citations in OpenAlex.
- Design and optimization of in situ self-functionalizing stress sensors.The European physical journal. E, Soft matter · 2026Article
- Studying gastrulation by invagination: The bending of a cell sheet by mechanical cell properties using 3D deformable cell based simulations.PLoS computational biology · 2025Article
- The first embryo, the origin of cancer and animal phylogeny. V. Cancer stem cells as the unifying biomechanical principle between embryology and oncology.Mechanobiology in medicine · 2025Review
- The role of extracellular matrix viscoelasticity in development and disease.npj biological physics and mechanics · 2025Review
- Harnessing mechanobiology for kidney organoid research.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2023Review
- A biaxial tensional model for early vertebrate morphogenesis.The European physical journal. E, Soft matter · 2022Article
- Soft-Tissue Material Properties and Mechanogenetics during Cardiovascular Development.Journal of cardiovascular development and disease · 2022Review
- From biomechanics to mechanobiology: Xenopus provides direct access to the physical principles that shape the embryo.Current opinion in genetics & development · 2020Review
- Review
- Spatial mapping of tissue properties in vivo reveals a 3D stiffness gradient in the mouse limb bud.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2020Article
- Viscoelastic Properties of ECM-Rich Embryonic Microenvironments.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2020Article
- Tissue rheology in embryonic organization.The EMBO journal · 2019Review
- Mechanics of Anteroposterior Axis Formation in Vertebrates.Annual review of cell and developmental biology · 2019Review
- A simple mechanochemical model for calcium signalling in embryonic epithelial cells.Journal of mathematical biology · 2019Article
- Article
- Regional Variation in Androgen Receptor Expression and Biomechanical Properties May Contribute to Cryptorchidism Susceptibility in the LE/orl Rat.Frontiers in endocrinology · 2018Article
- Evaluating biomechanical properties of murine embryos using Brillouin microscopy and optical coherence tomography.Journal of biomedical optics · 2017Article
- Spatiotemporally Controlled Mechanical Cues Drive Progenitor Mesenchymal-to-Epithelial Transition Enabling Proper Heart Formation and Function.Current biology : CB · 2017Article
- Mechanics of neurulation: From classical to current perspectives on the physical mechanics that shape, fold, and form the neural tube.Birth defects research · 2017Review
- Xenopus as a model for studies in mechanical stress and cell division.Genesis (New York, N.Y. : 2000) · 2017Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPrevious studies suggest that mechanical feedback could coordinate morphogenetic events in embryos. Furthermore, embryonic tissues have complex structure and composition and undergo large deformations during morphogenesis. Hence we expect highly non-linear and loading-rate dependent tissue mechanical properties in embryos. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL
findingsWe used micro-aspiration to test whether a simple linear viscoelastic model was sufficient to describe the mechanical behavior of gastrula stage Xenopus laevis embryonic tissue in vivo. We tested whether these embryonic tissues change their mechanical properties in response to mechanical stimuli but found no evidence of changes in the viscoelastic properties of the tissue in response to stress or stress application rate. We used this model to test hypotheses about the pattern of force generation during electrically induced tissue contractions. The dependence of contractions on suction pressure was most consistent with apical tension, and was inconsistent with isotropic contraction. Finally, stiffer clutches generated stronger contractions, suggesting that force generation and stiffness may be coupled in the embryo. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The mechanical behavior of a complex, active embryonic tissue can be surprisingly well described by a simple linear viscoelastic model with power law creep compliance, even at high deformations. We found no evidence of mechanical feedback in this system. Together these results show that very simple mechanical models can be useful in describing embryo mechanics.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.