Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40695803›Full record

ArticleNature communications2025

Basement membrane perforations guide anterior-posterior axis formation.

Dong-Yuan Chen, Nikolas H Claussen, Shiny Titus, Wenqi Hu, Bailey A T Weatherbee, Rachel S Mandelbaum, Richard T Scott, Emre Seli, Sebastian J Streichan, Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
  3. Mechanical cues regulateMaterials today. Bio · 2026
    Article
  4. Article
  5. Oogenesis and germinal bed morphology of the brown anole (A. sagrei).Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists · 2026
    Article
  6. Oogenesis and germinal bed morphology of the brown anole (bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Dong-Yuan ChenDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2179-2847
Nikolas H ClaussenDepartment of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9020-6437
Shiny TitusColumbia University, Irving Cancer Medical Center, New York, NY, 10032, USA.
Wenqi HuDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA.
Bailey A T WeatherbeeCenter for Stem Cell and Organoid Medicine, Perinatal Institute, Division of Developmental Biology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6825-6278
Rachel S MandelbaumDivision of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90033, USA.
Richard T ScottFoundation for Embryonic Competence, 140 Allen Road Basking Ridge, Basking Ridge, NJ, 07945, USA.
Emre SeliDepartment of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Sciences, Yale School of Medicine, 333 Cedar St, New Haven, CT, 06520, USA.
Sebastian J StreichanDepartment of Physics, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6105-9087
Magdalena Zernicka-GoetzDivision of Biology and Biological Engineering, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, 91125, USA. magdaz@caltech.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7004-2471

Funding

Placental models to support embryogenesis in vitroDP1HD104575 · NICHD · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI ZERNICKA-GOETZ, MAGDALENA · 2020 to 2024
$5.8M
Physics of Living Matter: From Molecule to Embryo.R35GM138203 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SANTA BARBARA · PI Sebastian J Streichan · 2020 to 2026
$2.7M
Integrating cell identities and morphodynamics through extracellular cuesK99HD111676 · NICHD · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI CHEN, DONG-YUAN · 2023 to 2024
$257k
Mechanistic roles of the basement membrane mechanics in cellular morphodynamics and tissue patterning of the pre-gastrulating embryoF32HD105442 · NICHD · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · PI CHEN, DONG-YUAN · 2021 to 2023
$166k
NICHD NIH HHS DP1 HD104575NICHD NIH HHS F32 HD105442NICHD NIH HHS K99 HD111676NIGMS NIH HHS R35 GM138203U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 5DP1HD104575U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) F32HD105442U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) K99HD111676
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Establishment of the anterior-posterior (AP) axis is a critical symmetry-breaking event in mammalian development. In mice, this process involves the directed migration of the distal visceral endoderm (DVE). Here, we use targeted perturbations to demonstrate that asymmetric perforations in the basement membrane guide DVE migration. During implantation, matrix metalloproteinases in extra-embryonic tissues create uneven basement membrane perforations, establishing directional cues for cohesive DVE migration. Using light-sheet microscopy and tissue cartography, we show that migrating DVE deforms surrounding tissues. Physical modeling and live imaging of DVE protrusions indicate that basement membrane perforations orchestrate active force generation within the DVE. Extending these findings to human embryos and stem cell-derived models, we identify basement membranes with enriched perforations near the anterior hypoblast in embryos, suggesting a conserved mechanism for AP axis specification. These findings reveal an unrecognized role of basement membrane remodeling and mechanical heterogeneity in guiding directional tissue migration during mammalian development.

Indexed as

Basement MembraneBody PatterningEndodermAnimalsCell MovementEmbryo, MammalianFemaleHumansMatrix MetalloproteinasesMiceMatrix Metalloproteinases

Identifiers

PMID40695803
PMCPMC12284222

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

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.