Mathematical modelling of embryonic tissue elongation

Spatiotemporal changes in tissue mechanics during embryonic development have been shown to be critical for body axis elongation. A minimal in vitro system recapitulating this process are gastruloids: synthetic embryos generated from mouse embryonic stem cells that elongate asymmetrically along a pre...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Frigola Casals, Joaquim
Tipo de recurso: tesis de maestría
Fecha de publicación:2023
País:España
Institución:Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC)
Repositorio:UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:upcommons.upc.edu:2117/392831
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/2117/392831
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Hydrodynamics
Morphogenesis
Hydrodynamical model
Asymmetrical growth
Hidrodinàmica
Classificació AMS::76 Fluid mechanics::76Z Biological fluid mechanics
Àrees temàtiques de la UPC::Matemàtiques i estadística
Descripción
Sumario:Spatiotemporal changes in tissue mechanics during embryonic development have been shown to be critical for body axis elongation. A minimal in vitro system recapitulating this process are gastruloids: synthetic embryos generated from mouse embryonic stem cells that elongate asymmetrically along a predefined axis. However, the biophysical mechanism underlying this process is still unknown. In this study, we use a hydrodynamic model to explore potential mechanisms for uniaxial tissue elongation, focusing on changes in tissue rheology. To model this process, we use a two-component model that accounts for cell and interstitial fluid interactions, proposed by Ranft et al. (2012). We solve the model in 1D and investigate how different biophysical gradients lead to asymmetric growth. Specifically, we obtain that the growth of the tissue predicted by the model is linear and restricted on its boundaries. We also obtain asymmetric growth of the tissue provided that its size is larger than the hydrodynamic length-scale of the system. Our study identifies viscosity and friction gradients as potential drivers of asymmetric growth.