Design of Organ
Morphology of organs is individualized
Organ design, the reproduction of organ morphology, and organ mass, sufficient capacity in functional organs, are important issues in organ regeneration. Morphogenesis of an organism is strictly programmed in the body development plan. Organ design is achievable to elucidate and apply this mechanism.
We engage in research of both the organ germ method that uses dissociated single cell manipulation and in the investigation of organ morphogenesis by visualization mathematical biology.
Tooth morphogenesis through epithelial-mesenchymal interactions
Tooth morphology is defined by both the crown size and tooth length at the macro-morphology level, and by the number and position of the cusp and roots at the micro-morphology level.
To regulate tooth morphology, we demonstrated that the crown width of a bioengineered tooth reconstituted via the organ germ method is regulated by the contact area between the epithelial and mesenchymal cell layers. Furthermore, we engage in research to develop a technology for organ design.
Figure: Regulate morphology of bioengineered tooth via cell manipulation.
Elucidation of the regulatory mechanisms in organ morphology
Figure: Live imaging of tooth
development
Inside the white line is the epithelium
Red:
the growth-arrested population
Green: the growth population
In organ development, their inherent morphologies are controlled by spatiotemporal regulation of cell growth, movement, and morphological change via reciprocal epithelial-mesenchymal interactions. Each organ has mechanisms that orchestrate the spatiotemporal cell dynamics, such as cell proliferation and movement during development; however, the detailed mechanisms have not yet been completely elucidated. In this study, we used various approaches to understand the complex interactive morphogenesis as a system by using tooth and hair as the organ model; these approaches included catching the developmental events visually by live-imaging technology, revealing the molecular mechanism of these events by genetic engineering, and viewing these events holistically by computer simulation and mathematical thinking.
Through these approaches, we aim to arrive at a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms that spatiotemporally regulate organ morphogenesis caused by the interactions of individual cell dynamics.
