# Biomechanics of Morphogenesis

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH · 2020 · $311,512

## Abstract

Project Summary:
Physical mechanical processes are central to the morphogenesis of embryos and their organs. The
goal of this proposal is to apply a multi-scale analysis of the mechanics of convergent extension, identifying
biomechanical mechanisms that establish passive tissue properties such as stiffness as well as active
processes that generate forces of extension, regulate cell behaviors and tissue deformation, and how passive
mechanics and active force generating processes are coordinated within the frog embryo. Studies outlined in
this proposal will answer: (1) How are cell-scale structures and tissue mechanics are integrated during
elongation? Early development is marked by dramatic changes in the mechanical properties of embryos. To
understand how and why these properties change we test simple models of tissue mechanics based on
synthetic closed-cell foams using bioengineering and biophysical methods to disrupt features from large scale
architecture to the subcellular actomyosin-dependent cortex. (2) What single-cell mechanical processes
contribute to convergent extension? We extend our analysis of cell behaviors to an unbiased approach that
combines wide-field confocal microscopy with descriptive biomechanical analyses from the level of the cell, to
the local neighborhood, to the strain fields of the entire embryo. Combining analyses of neural plate and
paraxial somitic mesoderm we describe the dependence of these movements on planar polarity signaling.
Using systems approaches we seek to test the dependencies of specific cell behaviors on both upstream
signaling systems and their targeted downstream effectors. (3) How are tissue polarity cues transduced into
polarized cell behaviors? We hypothesize that polarized cell behaviors and the oriented forces they generate
are the result of cues produced by anisotropic strain. To test the roles of polarized intracellular factors and
mechanical strain in organizing cell behaviors we use magnetogenetics and micro-scale tissue stretchers.
Results from this project will complement ongoing efforts to identify the molecular regulators of morphogenesis
by providing a conceptual framework developing new hypotheses of morphogenesis and bioengineering tools
to test them. The significance of our work provides researchers a more complete understanding of the
contribution of cell- and tissue-mechanics to development, to understand the role of tissue mechanics in
oncogenesis, and to provide fundamental physical principles for future functional tissue engineers.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9999958
- **Project number:** 5R01HD044750-13
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH AT PITTSBURGH
- **Principal Investigator:** LANCE A. DAVIDSON
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $311,512
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2005-09-01 → 2022-08-18

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9999958

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9999958, Biomechanics of Morphogenesis (5R01HD044750-13). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9999958. Licensed CC0.

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