TY  - JOUR
A1  - Fischer, Sabine C.
A1  - Schardt, Simon
A1  - Lilao-Garzón, Joaquín
A1  - Muñoz-Descalzo, Silvia
T1  - The salt-and-pepper pattern in mouse blastocysts is compatible with signaling beyond the nearest neighbors
T2  - iScience
N2  - Summary
Embryos develop in a concerted sequence of spatiotemporal arrangements of cells. In the preimplantation mouse embryo, the distribution of the cells in the inner cell mass evolves from a salt-and-pepper pattern to spatial segregation of two distinct cell types. The exact properties of the salt-and-pepper pattern have not been analyzed so far. We investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of NANOG- and GATA6-expressing cells in the ICM of the mouse blastocysts with quantitative three-dimensional single-cell-based neighborhood analyses. A combination of spatial statistics and agent-based modeling reveals that the cell fate distribution follows a local clustering pattern. Using ordinary differential equations modeling, we show that this pattern can be established by a distance-based signaling mechanism enabling cells to integrate information from the whole inner cell mass into their cell fate decision. Our work highlights the importance of longer-range signaling to ensure coordinated decisions in groups of cells to successfully build embryos.

Highlights
• The local cell neighborhood and global ICM population composition correlate
• ICM cells show characteristics of local clustering in early and mid mouse blastocysts
• ICM patterning requires integration of signals from cells beyond the first neighbors
KW  - mouse blastocysts
KW  - cellular physiology
KW  - developmental biology
KW  - salt-and-pepper pattern
KW  - signaling
KW  - local cell neighborhood
KW  - ICM cells
Y1  - 2023
UR  - https://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/opus4-wuerzburg/frontdoor/index/index/docId/35018
UR  - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-350184
VL  - 26
IS  - 11
ER  -