Seminars and Events

Past Events

Category Seminar
Date and Time 2011-05-16 16:00 - 17:00
Venue Seminar Room A7F
Speaker Yusuke Toyama
Affiliation Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore Mechanobiology Institute Singapore, National University of Singapore Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory
Title Mechanical Forces due to Cell Destruction: Biophysical Investigation of the Role of Apoptosis in Tissue Dynamics during Embryogenesis
Poster click here to download(PDF)
Host Erina Kuranaga
summary Understanding tissue dynamics during embryo development requires knowledge of how cells produce and respond to mechanical forces. Using the approach of biological physics, including in vivo imaging, laser microsurgery, quantitative analysis, gene manipulation, and theoretical modeling, we have characterized a novel role for apoptosis in tissue dynamics. During the long journey from egg to adult, the number of cells is finely controlled as the cells collect into distinct tissues that undergo patterned movements to form the adult body. Apoptosis is the process that eliminates cells which are no longer biologically necessary. During the apoptotic process, the dying cell is squeezed out from the tissue by mechanical forces produced within the cell and by forces produced within the neighboring cells. We experimentally demonstrated that the forces that squeezed out the apoptotic cell also contributed to tissue movements during development in the Drosophila embryo. This role is not classically attributed to apoptosis. This research raises questions as to whether evolution may have harnessed the apoptotic force in other ways.
PAGE TOP