HKUMed researchers discover a novel mechanism of multicellular pattern formation providing new insights into development
Understanding how cells form patterns and structures as an embryo grows organs or how a zebrafish develops coloured stripes is a fundamental question for scientists.
The complex structures biological systems make it challenging for researchers to understand underlying patterns. This knowledge is crucial for scientists who want to use stem cells to build a structure then use that structure or structures to make an organ. It is also integral for understanding how to repair organs.
To throw light on the processes involved, this research conducted by a team from HKUMed’s School of Biomedical Sciences combined experimental biology with physics to examine self-organisation of different cell types.
Working with two genetically distinct strains of E. coli, researchers fabricated signalling pathways between the two strains to allow them to mutually control their motility. When the strains were programmed to increase the motility of the other strain, the cell populations on the agar plate formed an orderly stripe pattern in concentric rings with each strain appearing alternately.
However, when the two strains were programmed to suppress motility in the other, the resulting pattern was also periodic rings, but with both strains appearing in each ring.
The team is now examining how to achieve a function from a structure, such as how the tiny hairs in the lungs move mucus out of the organ.
發現多細胞系統生物圖案形式機制 理解生物發育之旅
生物體在發育過程中，會形成多種多樣的圖案或結構，如胚胎發育中器官如何生長、斑馬魚怎樣發展彩色花紋等，是長久以來生物學最基本的科學問題之一。
大部分生物系統的結構複雜，令研究人員難以掌握背後原理。為揭示此過程，港大生物醫學學院研究團隊，利用合成生物學手段來構建人工生物系統，試圖了解不同細胞種類的自我組織能力。
研究團隊利用大腸桿菌作爲模式生物，在兩群細胞間設計了人工的信號通路，使得它們通過感受對方的局部密度調控彼此的運動能力。當將兩種互相增強對方運動的細胞混合後，它們在培養基中趨向於分離，並形成了規律的條紋圖案，以同心圓的形式交替出現。惟當兩種細胞互相抑制對方，竟然也形成了類似的同心圓，然而兩種細胞群體始終聚集在一起。
研究團隊現正探討生物如何發展結構功能，例如肺部內的微細毛髮如何將粘液移離肺部。
