Mechanical waves decode positional information to calibrate wound healing response in zebrafish
Marco De Leon1,2,3*, Fu-Lai Wen4, Hsiao-Yuh Roan3, Ying-Ting Wang3, Chung-Han Wang3, Chung-Der Hsiao5, Keng-Hui Lin4, Chen-Hui Chen3
1Molecular and Biological Agricultural Sciences, Taiwan International Graduate Program, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
2Graduate Institute of Biotechnology, National Chung-Hsing University, Taichung, Taiwan
3Institute of Cellular and Organismic Biology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
4Institute of Physics, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan
5Department of Bioscience Technology, Chung-Yuan University, Chung-Li, Taiwan
* Presenter:Marco De Leon, email:marcopomidadeleon@gmail.com
Upon appendage amputation, salamander and zebrafish regrow the lost part at the rate fittingly to the amputation levels. It remains mysterious for centuries how these animals sense the amputation position and respond accordingly. Here we employed in toto imaging on basal epidermal cells in zebrafish tailfin after amputation and identified millimeter-scaled wave propagating in epidermal cell sheet during the wound healing process. We quantified several essential wave features, which are in good agreement with a simple model considering active particles connected by springs. We identified the wave travelling distance is proportional to the amputation level, which can be explained by the monotonic changing mechanical properties, i.e. friction and cell motility, along the distal-proximal axis of the tailfin. Our work illustrates the key role of mechanical signals plays in the wound healing process of zebrafish.
Keywords: zebrafish, wound healing, epithelial cell migration, hydrogen peroxide, mechanical waves