Segmentation-clock synchronization in circular-lattice networks of embryonic presomitic-mesoderm cells

• Main Authors: Jesús Pantoja-Hernández, Moisés Santillán
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIMS Press 2021-04-01
• Series: AIMS Mathematics
• Subjects: somitogenesis; presomitic mesoderm; synchronization; delay differential equations; circular lattice
• Online Access: http://www.aimspress.com/article/doi/10.3934/math.2021344?viewType=HTML

Somitogenesis is the process by means of which a tissue known as presomitic mesoderm (PSM) is segmented in blocks of cells, called somites, along the anterior-posterior axis of the developing embryo in segmented animals. In vertebrates, somites give rise to axial skeleton, cartilage, tendons, skeletal muscle, and dermis. Somite formation occurs periodically, and this periodicity is driven by a genetic oscillator that operates within PSM cells and is known as the segmentation clock. The correct synchronization of the segmentation clock among PSM cells is essential for somitogenesis to develop normally. When synchronization is disrupted, somites form irregularly and, in consequence, the tissues that originate from them show clear malformations. In this work, based in a model for zebrafish segmentation clock, we investigate by means of a mathematical modeling approach, how PSM-cell synchronization is affected by factors like: the size of PSM-cell networks, the amount of cell-to-cell interactions per PSM cell, the strength of these interactions, and the inherent variability among PSM cells. Interestingly we found that very small PSM-cell networks are unable to synchronize. Moreover, the effect of decreasing the strength of interactions among PSM cells is corrected by increasing the network connectivity-level, and a moderated level of variability among cells can have a positive effect on synchronization, specially in large networks.