{"id":34206,"date":"2020-12-02T16:40:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=34206"},"modified":"2024-03-22T11:19:52","modified_gmt":"2024-03-22T10:19:52","slug":"scratching-the-surface-on-cell-differentiation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/scratching-the-surface-on-cell-differentiation\/","title":{"rendered":"Scratching the surface on cell differentiation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over the past twenty years, an increasing body of research has focused on analysing the mechanical forces that help regulate how cells change and develop. Now, EMBL scientists have demonstrated the importance of physical forces in cell differentiation. This is the process by which a cell changes from one type to another \u2013 usually more specialised \u2013 type of cell. The results are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As cells differentiate and take on specialised functions, they also change their shape. Scientists know that cell shape is governed by the mechanics of the cell surface, but until now research has only scratched the surface of understanding if these mechanics can also control cell differentiation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists in the Diz-Mu\u00f1oz group<\/a> at EMBL Heidelberg are working to build understanding of the role that mechanical properties play in affecting cell behaviour \u2013 a young and rapidly developing field of study. They have developed and successfully used a highly specialised technique to manipulate the mechanical properties of the membrane at the cell surface, enabling them to analyse membrane mechanics at a level of detail that few other laboratories can achieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stem cell differentiation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stem cells are the cells from which other, specialised cells originate. Their unique ability to become specialised cells with a distinct function \u2013 such as brain or heart cells \u2013 means they\u2019re incredibly important for our understanding of development, and they play a crucial role in biomedical research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with stem cells derived from a mouse embryo, members of the Diz-Mu\u00f1oz group were able to show for the first time that the mechanical properties of the cell membrane co-regulate the process of stem cell differentiation and specialisation, alongside the cell\u2019s genome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is something completely new, and will need to be taken into account for future biomedical research,\u201d says Sergio Lembo, one of the authors of the study. \u201cTake something like creating organoids, which are simplified 3D versions of organs. They provide model systems for scientists to study diseases, and are made using stem cells. Being able to master cell differentiation is essential for the creation of organoids, and our work has shown for the first time how important the mechanical properties of the cell membrane are in that process.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A groundbreaking tool<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The surface of animal cells can be imagined as a balloon with another balloon inside it. The outer surface is called the plasma membrane, and is made primarily of fat molecules. The inner surface, the cortex, is a mesh of a threadlike protein called actin. These two layers are glued together by sticky proteins, and this glue is known as the membrane-to-cortex attachment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n