Spatiotemporal lineage derepression by cell crowding-induced ETV4 inactivation
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ABSTRACT: All extant amniotes employ a single-layered epithelium of epiblasts as a starting material for gastrulation, suggesting the necessity of the epithelial structure for three germ layer derivation. Using a human embryonic stem cell (hESC) epithelium as a model system, we found that local epithelial crowding derepresses the neuroectoderm fate by spatiotemporal inactivation of ETV4. ETV4 serves as a genetic toggle switch that links cell density to lineage fates. Mechanistically, cell crowding blocks FGF receptor endocytosis by reduced cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interaction. Disrupted endocytosis decreases ETV4 protein stability by ERK inactivation. Mathematical modeling of epithelial crowding demonstrates that the cooperativity of integrin-ECM interaction transforms the gradient of crowdedness into bistable ETV4 transition, which ensures the switch-like function of ETV4 in lineage determination. Our results propose local cell crowding in a stem cell epithelium as a key cellular mechanism for spatiotemporal regulation of lineage fates.
ORGANISM(S): Homo sapiens
PROVIDER: GSE183702 | GEO | 2024/03/12
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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