Biology subjects

Pau Rué

Publications and source records attributed to Pau Rué.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2015

FGF/MAPK signaling sets the switching threshold of a bistable circuit controlling cell fate decisions in ES cells

Intracellular transcriptional regulators and extracellular signaling pathways together regulate the allocation of cell fates during development, but how their molecular activities are integrated to establish the correct proportions of cells with particular fates is not known. Here we study this question in the context of the decision between the epiblast (Epi) and the primitive endoderm (PrE) fate that occurs in the mammalian preimplantation embryo. Using an embryonic stem (ES) cell model, we discover two successive functions of FGF/MAPK signaling in this decision. First, the pathway needs to be inhibited to make the PrE-like gene expression program accessible for activation by GATA transcription factors in ES cells. In a second step, MAPK signaling levels determine the threshold concentration of GATA factors required for PrE-like differentiation, and thereby control the proportion of cells differentiating along this lineage. Our findings can be explained by a simple mutual repression circuit modulated by FGF/MAPK signaling. This may be a general network architecture to integrate the activity of signal transduction pathways and transcriptional regulators, and serve to balance proportions of cell fates in several contexts.

Developmental Biology↗

bioRxiv2014

A framework for the analysis of symmetric and asymmetric divisions in developmental processes

Animal tissue development relies on precise generation and deployment of specific cell types into tissue sub-structures. Understanding how this process is regulated remains a major challenge of biology. In many tissues, development progresses through a sequence of dividing progenitor cells, each with decreasing potency, that balance their growth and differentiation. Dividing progenitor cells thus face a decision on whether their offspring shall differentiate or self-renew. This results in three possible modes of division (symmetric self-renewing, symmetric differentiating, and asymmetric) all of which have been observed in developing animal tissues. In some instances, the frequencies of occurrence of these division modes are incompatible with the possibility that sibling cells take the decision to differentiate independently of each other. Rather, an excess of symmetric divisions, both proliferating and differentiating, is usually observed in so far no general mechanism by which this fate entanglement takes place has been put forward. Here we propose a simple model of progenitor priming that provides a rationale on how the fate of sibling cells might be linked. Analysis of the model suggests that commitment to the cycle completion of cells primed for differentiation might be the cause of the observed excess of symmetric divisions. The model presented is applicable to a broad range of developmental systems and provides a testing framework to explain the dynamics of cell division and differentiation are related.

Developmental Biology↗

bioRxiv2014

Brachyury cooperates with Wnt/β-Catenin signalling to elicit Primitive Streak like behaviour in differentiating mouse ES cells.

The formation of the Primitive Streak is the first visible sign of gastrulation, the process by which the three germ layers are formed from a single epithelium during early development. Embryonic Stem Cells (ESCs) provide a good system to understand the molecular and cellular events associated with these processes. Previous work, both in embryos and in culture, has shown how converging signals from both Nodal/TGF{beta}R and Wnt/{beta}-Catenin signalling pathways specify cells to adopt a Primitive Streak like fate and direct them to undertake an epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT). However, many of these approaches have relied on genetic analyses without taking into account the temporal progression of events within single cells. In addition, it is still unclear as to what extent events in the embryo are able to be reproduced in culture. Here, we combine flow-cytometry and a quantitative live single-cell imaging approach to demonstrate how the controlled differentiation of mouse ESCs (mESCs) towards a Primitive Streak fate in culture results in cells displaying many of the characteristics observed during early mouse development including transient Brachyury expression, EMT and increased motility. We also find that the EMT initiates the process, and this is both fuelled and terminated by the action of Bra, whose expression is dependent on the EMT and {beta}-Catenin activity. As a consequence of our analysis, we propose that a major output of Brachyury expression is in controlling the velocity of the cells that are transiting out of the Primitive Streak.

Developmental Biology↗

bioRxiv2013

An interplay between extracellular signalling and the dynamics of the exit from pluripotency drives cell fate decisions in mouse ES cells

Embryonic Stem cells derived from the epiblast tissue of the mammalian blastocyst, retain the capability to differentiate into any adult cell type and are able to self-renew indefinitely under appropriate culture conditions. Despite the large amount of knowledge that we have accumulated to date about the regulation and control of self-renewal, efficient directed differentiation into specific tissues remains elusive. In this work, we have analyzed in a systematic manner the interaction between the dynamics of loss of pluripotency and Activin/Nodal, BMP4 and Wnt signalling in fate assignment during the early stages of differentiation of mouse ES cells in culture. During the initial period of differentiation cells exit from pluripotency and enter an Epi-like state. Following this transient stage, and under the influence of Activin/Nodal and BMP signalling, cells face a fate choice between differentiating into neuroectoderm and contributing to Primitive Streak fates. We find that Wnt signalling does not suppress neural development as previously thought and that it aids both fates in a context dependent manner. Our results suggest that as cells exit pluripotency they are endowed with a primary neuroectodermal fate and that the potency to become endomesodermal rises with time. We suggest that this situation translates into a \"race for fates\" at the level of single cells in which the neuroectodermal fate has an advantage.

Developmental Biology↗