Friday, August 8, 2025
Science
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US
No Result
View All Result
Scienmag
No Result
View All Result
Home Science News Biology

How a ‘conductor’ makes sense of chaos in early mouse embryos

May 7, 2024
in Biology
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Early stages of mouse embyro development
66
SHARES
598
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Early embryonic development is tumultuous. It involves a rapid sequence of events, including cell division, differentiation, and lots of compartments moving around within each cell. Like an orchestra performance where each member of the band must start playing at the exact right moment and in perfect harmony, these processes need to be precisely timed and coordinated to ensure the embryo develops normally.

Early stages of mouse embyro development

Credit: Shoma Nakagawa/Centro de Regulación Genómica

Early embryonic development is tumultuous. It involves a rapid sequence of events, including cell division, differentiation, and lots of compartments moving around within each cell. Like an orchestra performance where each member of the band must start playing at the exact right moment and in perfect harmony, these processes need to be precisely timed and coordinated to ensure the embryo develops normally.

How cells make sense of this chaos at the very beginning of an embryo’s development is an open question. The protein NKX1-2 a crucial role, according to a new study published today in the journal Stem Cell Reports by ICREA Research Professor Pia Cosma at the Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG) in Barcelona and Professor Andrea Califano President of the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub New York and Professor at Columbia University.

NKX1-2 behaves like an orchestra’s conductor, skilfully ensuring that the genetic instructions for developing the embryo are executed correctly and at the right times. The protein helps manage the production and organisation of the cell’s machinery for making proteins (like ribosomes) and is also crucial for keeping chromosomes organized and properly distributed when cells divide.

When the researchers experimentally inhibited the function of NKX1-2 in mice, they found the nucleolus (a part of the nucleus that assembles ribosomes) was severely altered, disrupting the embryo’s ability to produce ribosomes correctly. They also found the 2- to 4-cell embryos could not distribute chromosomes correctly during cell division, and would stop growing at these very early stages of development.

“NKX1-2 belongs to a protein family which is known to play crucial roles in early development and organ formation. While we knew that members of this family were important in general development, NKX1-2’s specific role, especially in early embryonic stages, wasn’t well understood,” explains ICREA Research Professor Pia Cosma, corresponding author of the study.

“It is intriguing that such mechanistic determinants of embryogenesis could be identified by assembling and interrogating a mouse embryonic stem cell regulatory network, using methodologies originally developed for cancer research,” adds Dr. Califano, co-corresponding author on the study.

Given the similarities in early developmental processes between mice and humans, the findings offer new clues into unexplained causes of developmental problems, including miscarriages. Miscarriages often result from chromosomal abnormalities, which can arise from issues like those observed in the study — improper chromosome segregation and cell division errors. Further research could explore if there is a human counterpart that influences these fundamental processes as it does in mice, and what happens when it fails.

Despite the importance of NKX1-2 in early embryo development, the researchers suspect more ‘conductors’ remain to be discovered. “NKX1-2 is expressed at very low levels, which makes it extremely difficult to detect. It’s like trying to find a needle in a haystack using traditional methods in biology. Repeating our methods could help find other rare and critical elements that have been historically overlooked,” adds Dr. Cosma.



Journal

Stem Cell Reports

DOI

10.1016/j.stemcr.2024.04.004

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Cells

Article Title

The Wnt-dependent master regulator NKX1-2 controls mouse pre-implantation development

Article Publication Date

2-May-2024

Share26Tweet17
Previous Post

Neuroscientist from Göttingen receives prestigious research grant

Next Post

AI predicts tumor-killing cells with high accuracy

Related Posts

blank
Biology

Beneficial Soil Bacteria: Impact on Plant Growth

August 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Discovering a Phage to Combat Drug-Resistant Bacteria

August 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Deletion Mutants Reveal DivIVA Gene Impact on Cell Length

August 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Japan Unveils Its First Fully Domestically Developed Quantum Computer

August 8, 2025
blank
Biology

LJI Scientists Investigate How Sex-Based Differences Impact the Immune System

August 8, 2025
blank
Biology

Discovering Microproteins as Novel Therapies for Obesity and Metabolic Disorders

August 7, 2025
Next Post
Alexandre Harari

AI predicts tumor-killing cells with high accuracy

  • Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    Mothers who receive childcare support from maternal grandparents show more parental warmth, finds NTU Singapore study

    27531 shares
    Share 11009 Tweet 6881
  • University of Seville Breaks 120-Year-Old Mystery, Revises a Key Einstein Concept

    943 shares
    Share 377 Tweet 236
  • Bee body mass, pathogens and local climate influence heat tolerance

    641 shares
    Share 256 Tweet 160
  • Researchers record first-ever images and data of a shark experiencing a boat strike

    507 shares
    Share 203 Tweet 127
  • Warm seawater speeding up melting of ‘Doomsday Glacier,’ scientists warn

    310 shares
    Share 124 Tweet 78
Science

Embark on a thrilling journey of discovery with Scienmag.com—your ultimate source for cutting-edge breakthroughs. Immerse yourself in a world where curiosity knows no limits and tomorrow’s possibilities become today’s reality!

RECENT NEWS

  • JWST Reveals Secrets of Universe’s First Billion Years
  • Newborn Idiopathic Scrotal Hematoma: Case Study Insights
  • Reproductive Insights for Restoring Pink Sea Fans
  • Physicists Unveil Quantum ‘Starry Night’: Revealing Hidden Instabilities and Exotic Vortices

Categories

  • Agriculture
  • Anthropology
  • Archaeology
  • Athmospheric
  • Biology
  • Bussines
  • Cancer
  • Chemistry
  • Climate
  • Earth Science
  • Marine
  • Mathematics
  • Medicine
  • Pediatry
  • Policy
  • Psychology & Psychiatry
  • Science Education
  • Social Science
  • Space
  • Technology and Engineering

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 4,858 other subscribers

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • HOME
  • SCIENCE NEWS
  • CONTACT US

© 2025 Scienmag - Science Magazine

Discover more from Science

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading