Asynchronous fate decisions by single cells collectively ensure consistent lineage composition in the mouse blastocyst

Néstor Saiz, Kiah M. Williams, Venkatraman E. Seshan and Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis ()
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Néstor Saiz: Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Kiah M. Williams: Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Venkatraman E. Seshan: Memorial Hospital, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis: Developmental Biology Program, Sloan Kettering Institute, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Nature Communications, 2016, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-14

Abstract: Abstract Intercellular communication is essential to coordinate the behaviour of individual cells during organismal development. The preimplantation mammalian embryo is a paradigm of tissue self-organization and regulative development; however, the cellular basis of these regulative abilities has not been established. Here we use a quantitative image analysis pipeline to undertake a high-resolution, single-cell level analysis of lineage specification in the inner cell mass (ICM) of the mouse blastocyst. We show that a consistent ratio of epiblast and primitive endoderm lineages is achieved through incremental allocation of cells from a common progenitor pool, and that the lineage composition of the ICM is conserved regardless of its size. Furthermore, timed modulation of the FGF-MAPK pathway shows that individual progenitors commit to either fate asynchronously during blastocyst development. These data indicate that such incremental lineage allocation provides the basis for a tissue size control mechanism that ensures the generation of lineages of appropriate size.

Date: 2016
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms13463

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