Constructing tissue shapes with light

Stefano De Renzis and his group members at EMBL are interested in the mechanisms behind these shape transitions, also called morphogenesis. They use optogenetics – a technique providing precise light-mediated control of protein activity – to study changes in tissue shapes.

In the current paper, Emiliano Izquierdo, Theresa Quinkler, and Stefano De Renzis used optogenetics to reconstruct epithelial folding: a fundamental process during development, where cells move inwards and fold into the embryo, eventually giving rise to internal tissues like muscles, for example.

Remarkably, they achieved this in cells that normally do not undergo this process. De Renzis, who led the study: “We’ve uncoupled the link between the shape and function of a cell. This allows us to, for the first time, built tissues in certain shape without affecting the cell’s expertise.”

“The great thing about using optogenetics to guide morphogenesis is that it is a very precise technique”, said Emiliano Izquierdo, first author of the study. “We were able to define various shapes, and by alternating the timing and strength of illumination, we could control how far the cells folded inwards.”

The research was done in developing fruit flies, but since epithelial folding is a conserved process across evolution, De Renzis expects these methods to also be applicable in other organisms and ex vivo stem cell culture systems.

In that case, optogenetics could be a suitable technique for reconstructing and directing tissue development, which could be used to (re)build artificial tissues in regenerative medicine.