The formation of epithelial tubes is essential to build organs responsible to direct vital factors outside-in, inside-out as well as within animals (e.g., food and water through the gut, air through the lungs, or blood through the blood-vessels). Therefore, tube formation plays a critical role in multicellular life. Understanding the mechanisms (biological and molecular processes) and mechanics (physical forces) responsible to drive tube formation is key to understand the emergence of complex life forms. Deciphering the fundamental principles underlying tube formation, during normal development, will further provide new insights into how tubulogenesis disorders, that result from tube formation failure (e.g., spina bifida, polycystic kidney, tracheal atresia etc), may emerge. Tube formation often results from inpocketing: the bending of a tissue patch forming a pocket like shape. Although this process has been reported in multiple animals during the establishment of a number of organs, the mechanisms and mechanics responsible for tissue inpocketing remains not well understood. To dissect and study this process, we propose to use the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus embryo, a quite simple and powerful model system to study the mechanistic and mechanical principles governing tubulogenesis. More specifically, we will focus on the formation of the archenteron: a tubular epithelial structure that emerges from the inpocketing of the embryo vegetal plate during gastrulation and that eventually gives rise to the digestive tube of the sea urchin larva. Our preliminary data (based on biology, physics, mathematics, and computer science approaches) already highlight the involvement of a combination of coordinated mechanisms and coupled tissue mechanics to drive tissue inpocketing during sea urchin gastrulation. The goal of the proposed project is to build on this preliminary work to obtain a thorough understanding of the mechanisms and mechanics of tissue inpocketing for epithelial tube formation during animal development.

 

Beginning on the 1st of October 2025
Contact: Matteo RAUZI