ArticleNature2016
Asymmetric division of contractile domains couples cell positioning and fate specification.
Article in Nature, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 196 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
196 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Lineage Differentiation Markers as a Proxy for Embryo Viability in Farm Ungulates.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2021Pooled it
- TEAD4 Regulates apical domain homeostasis and cell-positioning to maintain the trophectoderm lineage during mouse blastocyst development.Open biology · 2026Article
- Molecular Regulation of Post-Hatching Embryo Development: Implications for Early Pregnancy Losses in Livestock Species.Reproduction in domestic animals = Zuchthygiene · 2026Review
- Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females.Nature cell biology · 2026Article
- From Static to Dynamic: Fluorescence Imaging Technology Advances Precise Embryo Evaluation.Small methods · 2026Review
- Biophysics of lumen morphogenesis.Development (Cambridge, England) · 2026Review
- Multicellular simulations with shape and volume constraints using optimal transport.Science advances · 2026Article
- Actomyosin contractility is a potent suppressor of mesoderm induction by human pluripotent stem cells.The Journal of cell biology · 2026Article
- A Predictive Model for Coupling Cell Division Orientation to Tissue Mechanics During Epithelial Morphogenesis.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Positional information and information flows in dynamic tissues.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Optimality as a framework for understanding developmental robustness.Trends in cell biology · 2026Review
- Unified Transcriptome and Mechanics Map of the Intact Mammalian Preimplantation Embryo In Situ.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- Non-invasive biomechanical characterization of embryos using microfluidic cantilevers.European biophysics journal : EBJ · 2026Article
- Lamin A/C directs nucleosome-scale chromatin remodeling to define early lineage segregation in mammals.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026Article
- A predictive model for coupling cell division orientation to tissue mechanics during epithelial morphogenesis.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Article
- Mechanical constraints on cell plasticity: insights from the olfactory epithelium.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- The importance of spatial structure in biology.European journal for philosophy of science · 2026Article
- The Role of Biomechanical Regulation in Physiological and Pathological Pregnancy: From Mechanotransduction to Clinical Implications.International journal of biological sciences · 2026Review
- Embryonic scaling: morphogen gradients, size sensing, and scaler genes.Frontiers in cell and developmental biology · 2026Review
- Direct Observation and Measurement of Membrane Tension in Xenopus laevis Animal Cap Explants Using the Mechanosensitive Dye, Flipper-TR.Methods in molecular biology (Clifton, N.J.) · 2026Article
136 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
During pre-implantation development, the mammalian embryo self-organizes into the blastocyst, which consists of an epithelial layer encapsulating the inner-cell mass (ICM) giving rise to all embryonic tissues. In mice, oriented cell division, apicobasal polarity and actomyosin contractility are thought to contribute to the formation of the ICM. However, how these processes work together remains unclear. Here we show that asymmetric segregation of the apical domain generates blastomeres with different contractilities, which triggers their sorting into inner and outer positions. Three-dimensional physical modelling of embryo morphogenesis reveals that cells internalize only when differences in surface contractility exceed a predictable threshold. We validate this prediction using biophysical measurements, and successfully redirect cell sorting within the developing blastocyst using maternal myosin (Myh9)-knockout chimaeric embryos. Finally, we find that loss of contractility causes blastomeres to show ICM-like markers, regardless of their position. In particular, contractility controls Yap subcellular localization, raising the possibility that mechanosensing occurs during blastocyst lineage specification. We conclude that contractility couples the positioning and fate specification of blastomeres. We propose that this ensures the robust self-organization of blastomeres into the blastocyst, which confers remarkable regulative capacities to mammalian embryos.
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Registered trials
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.