Background: E-cadherin is the major adhesion receptor in epithelial adherens junctions (AJs). On established epidermis, E-cadherin performs fine-tuned cell-cell contact remodeling to maintain tissue integrity, which is characterized by modulation of cell shape, size and packing density. In zebrafish, the organization and distribution of E-cadherin in AJs during embryonic epidermis development remain scarcely described. Methods: Combining classical immunofluorescence, deconvolution microscopy and 3D-segmentation of AJs in epithelial cells, a quantitative approach was implemented to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of E-cadherin across zebrafish epidermis between 24 and 72 hpf. Results: increasing levels of E-cadh protein parallel higher cell density and the appearance of hexagonal cells in the enveloping layer (EVL) as well as the establishments of new cell-cell contacts in the epidermal basal layer (EBL), being significantly between 31 and 48 hpf. Conclusions: Increasing levels of E-cadherin in AJs correlates with extensive changes in cell morphology towards hexagonal packing during the epidermis morphogenesis.
Background: E-cadherin is the major adhesion receptor in epithelial adherens junctions (AJs). On established epidermis, E-cadherin performs fine-tuned cell-cell contact remodeling to maintain tissue integrity, which is characterized by modulation of cell shape, size and packing density. In zebrafish, the organization and distribution of E-cadherin in AJs during embryonic epidermis development remain scarcely described. Methods: Combining classical immunofluorescence, deconvolution microscopy and 3D-segmentation of AJs in epithelial cells, a quantitative approach was implemented to assess the spatial and temporal distribution of E-cadherin across zebrafish epidermis between 24 and 72 hpf. Results: increasing levels of E-cadh protein parallel higher cell density and the appearance of hexagonal cells in the enveloping layer (EVL) as well as the establishments of new cell-cell contacts in the epidermal basal layer (EBL), being significantly between 31 and 48 hpf. Conclusions: Increasing levels of E-cadherin in AJs correlates with extensive changes in cell morphology towards hexagonal packing during the epidermis morphogenesis.
Collective cell migration drives the formation of complex organ systems as well as certain tumour invasions and wound healing processes. A characteristic feature of many migrating collectives is tissue-scale polarity, whereby ‘leader’ cells at the tissue edge guide ‘followers’ cells that become assembled into polarized epithelial tissues. In this study, we employed particle image velocimetry (PIV) as a tool to quantitate local dynamics underlying the migration of the posterior lateral line primordium (pLLP) in zebrafish at a short time scale. Epithelial cadherin-EGFP was the fluorescent tracer in time-lapse images for PIV analysis. At the tissue level, global speed and directionality of the primordium were extracted from spatially averaged velocity fields. Interestingly, fluctuating velocity patterns evolve at the mesoscale level, which distinguishes the pseudo-mesenchymal leading front from the epithelialized trailing edge, and superimpose to the global deceleration of the whole primordium during the separation of a protoneuromast. Local velocity fields obtained by PIV proved sensitive to estimate the migration speed and directionality of the pLLP in zebrafish, predicting protoneuromast separation at short time scales. Finally, the PIV approach may be suitable for analysing the dynamics of other in vivo models of collective migration.
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