Researchers have used a new computational model to study fruit fly wing development and uncover hidden mechanisms behind organ generation.
By studying the development of fruit fly wings, scientists have been able to identify mechanisms that could be relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases, as organs develop in similar ways in both fruit flies and humans.
man types of diseases like cancer, Alzheimer’s and genetic birth defects.
Jeremiah Zartman, an associate professor of chemical and biomolecular engineering at the University of Notre Dame, collaborated with a research team from the University of California, Riverside to create a fruit fly model for studying the mechanisms of organ tissue formation.
The findings of the team, published in Nature Communications, provide insight into the factors that control the size and shape of organ cells at a chemical and mechanical level.
“We aim to replicate an organ in a fruit fly to better understand how human organs develop and function,” said Zartman.The computer is used to create a digital twin of the organ, according to Zartman. The goal is to analyze the cells and cell parts to predict their interactions. Organs respond to a “symphony” of signals, as Zartman describes it. The fruit fly model developed by the researchers combines these signals to coordinate cell movement, contraction, adhesion, and proliferation. It also takes into account the mechanical, chemical, and structural properties of cell components, and how these properties change over time and in different locations. The model, along with the lab’s experimental results, Researchers found that there are two different types of chemical signaling pathways that can produce either curved or flat tissues, showing the ability to generate an organ with a specific shape. Cells that received insulin signals caused tissue to become more curved, while cells receiving signals from two other important growth regulators made tissue flatter. The study also revealed that these growth regulators affected the cell’s internal framework, known as the cytoskeleton, to further influence the size and shape of the cells. The overall goal of the Zartman group is to understand how these signaling pathways can be manipulated to control tissue shape.The objective is to determine if the biological principles learned from studying simulated fly organs are applicable to a wide range of organisms, including plants, fish, and humans.
“Our aim for the future is to create a digital prototype organ that addresses a fundamental question in biology – how do cells produce functional organs?” Zartman explained.
The team’s ongoing research is supported by the National Science Foundation’s Emergent Mechanisms in Biology of Robustness, Integration & Organization (EMBRIO) Institute and the Models for Uncovering Rules and Unexpected Phenomena in Biological Systems (MODULUS) program.
