{"id":53162,"date":"2022-10-20T13:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/?p=53162"},"modified":"2022-10-20T13:04:49","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T11:04:49","slug":"the-power-of-light-folding-3d-tissues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.embl.org\/news\/science\/the-power-of-light-folding-3d-tissues\/","title":{"rendered":"The power of light: folding 3D tissues"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Being able to change the shape of cells in the lab gives researchers a way to mimic morphogenesis, the biological process by which cells organise to form 3D tissues and organs. Researchers in the Ebisuya Group<\/a> at EMBL Barcelona have developed a novel optogenetic tool, which allows them to control cell and tissue shape by shining light on them. Their work was recently published in Nature Communications<\/em><\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Building tissues to understand them<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

During embryonic development, cells multiply, move, and come together to form different kinds of tissues, eventually creating a whole organism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOur lab studies synthetic developmental biology, which is a branch of science that builds tissues and tries to control them to understand how they function,\u201d said Guillermo Mart\u00ednez-Ara<\/a>, first author of the paper, who recently completed his PhD in the Ebisuya group. \u201cIn this particular project, we were interested in looking at how cells change shape to form tissues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Apical constriction, a process by which a cell actively reduces its top surface, is necessary for the formation of numerous curved structures in embryos. If we imagine a cube-shaped cell, when it decreases the area of its top surface \u2013 the apical part \u2013 it becomes pyramidal. When a row of such cube-shaped cells sit next to each other and all undergo apical constriction at the same time, the row changes shape from a straight line to a U-shaped one. Apical constriction thus helps organisms form curved tissues during early development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Graphic representation of how apical constriction induces the curvature of tissues.
Credit: Guillermo Mart\u00ednez-Ara<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Curving tissues with light<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Ebisuya\u2019s team modified a protein that triggers apical constriction \u2013 called Shroom3 \u2013 to make it sensitive to light. This modified version of the protein, which the team calls OptoShroom3, can be activated or deactivated by switching blue light on and off. Researchers observed that upon activation of OptoShroom3, it takes less than a minute for some cell types, like epithelial cells and neural tissues, to undergo apical constriction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cApical constriction is crucial for several processes in vertebrates, such as the formation of the gut, the kidney, or the early stages of the optic cup in the eye,\u201d said Mart\u00ednez-Ara. \u201cOur modified version of shroom3 can rapidly activate apical constriction. When we activate OptoShroom3 with light, we can cause tissues to fold, thicken, or flatten.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n