title: Coordination of Cellular Dynamics Contributes to Tooth Epithelium Deformations.
abstract: The morphologies of ectodermal organs are shaped by appropriate combinations of several deformation modes, such as invagination and anisotropic tissue elongation. However, how multicellular dynamics are coordinated during deformation processes remains to be elucidated. Here, we developed a four-dimensional (4D) analysis system for tracking cell movement and division at a single-cell resolution in developing tooth epithelium. The expression patterns of a Fucci probe clarified the region- and stage-specific cell cycle patterns within the tooth germ, which were in good agreement with the pattern of the volume growth rate estimated from tissue-level deformation analysis. Cellular motility was higher in the regions with higher growth rates, while the mitotic orientation was significantly biased along the direction of tissue elongation in the epithelium. Further, these spatio-temporal patterns of cellular dynamics and tissue-level deformation were highly correlated with that of the activity of cofilin, which is an actin depolymerization factor, suggesting that the coordination of cellular dynamics via actin remodeling plays an important role in tooth epithelial morphogenesis. Our system enhances the understanding of how cellular behaviors are coordinated during ectodermal organogenesis, which cannot be observed from histological analyses.
authors: Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan.
authors: Ritsuko
authors: R
authors: Morita
authors: Department of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan.
authors: Miho
authors: M
authors: Kihira
authors: Department of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan.
authors: Yousuke
authors: Y
authors: Nakatsu
authors: Department of Biological Science and Technology, Graduate School of Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Katsushika-ku, Tokyo, 125-8585, Japan.
authors: Yohei
authors: Y
authors: Nomoto
authors: Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan.
authors: Miho
authors: M
authors: Ogawa
authors: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan.
authors: Kazumasa
authors: K
authors: Ohashi
authors: Department of Biomolecular Sciences, Graduate School of Life Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8578, Japan.
authors: Kensaku
authors: K
authors: Mizuno
authors: Department of Oral Pathology, Showa University School of Dentistry, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, 142-8555, Japan.
authors: Tetsuhiko
authors: T
authors: Tachikawa
authors: Department of Machine Intelligence and Systems Engineering, Akita Prefectural University, Yurihonjo, Akita 015-0055, Japan.
authors: Yukitaka
authors: Y
authors: Ishimoto
authors: Laboratory for Developmental Morphogeometry, RIKEN Quantitative Biology Center, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
authors: Yoshihiro
authors: Y
authors: Morishita
authors: Research Institute for Science and Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Noda, Chiba, 278-8510, Japan.
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Tsuji
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology; D002465:Cell Movement / Q000502:physiology; D048430:Cell Shape / Q000502:physiology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000254:growth & development*; D051379:Mice; D018613:Microscopy, Confocal / Q000379:methods; D008954:Models, Biological; D009805:Odontogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D014070:Tooth / Q000254:growth & development*