Cell shape changes are crucial for both normal cell movements during development and abnormal cell behaviors during metastasis. In the initial stages of gastrulation in the amphibian Xenopus laevis, bottle cells initiate the blastopore lip, creating a crevice for the gastrulating cells to internalize. The shape change in bottle cells is driven by apical constriction, a mechanism that often precedes ingression and invagination, Despite its role in diverse morphogenetic processes, such as gastrulation, neurulation, placode formation, and epithelial to mesenchymal transitions, very little is known about the mechanisms responsible for apical constriction.
My goal is to establish X. laevis bottle cell formation as a model for investigating apical constriction by examining the cytoskeletal and molecular basis for polarized cell shape changes. In the long term, I will expand my research into X. tropicalis to enable the use of genetic tools to study vertebrate morphogenesis.
Publications:
Lee J-Y and RM Harland (2010)Endocytosis is required for efficient apical constriction during Xenopus gastrulation.
Current Biology Feb 9;20(3):253-8.
Lee J-Y and RM Harland . (2007)
Actomyosin contractility and microtubules drive apical constriction in Xenopus bottle cells.
Dev Biol. Nov 1;311(1):40-52.
Lee, J-Y*, DJ Marston*, T Walston, J Hardin, A Halberstadt, and B Goldstein (2006)
Wnt/Frizzled Signaling Controls C. elegans Gastrulation by Activating Actomyosin Contractility
Curr Biol. Oct 24;16(20):1986-97.
* contributed equally
> Faculty of 1000
Nance, J, J-Y Lee and B Goldstein. (2005)
Gastrulation in C. elegans
Chapter in WormBook
Lee, J-Y and B Goldstein (2003)
Mechanisms of cell positioning during C. elegans gastrulation
Development 130:307-320.
> Faculty of 1000
Links:
Developmental Cell Journal Club
Jen's former life as a C. elegans biologist
Gastrulation: From Cells to Embryo (Cold Spring Harbor Textbook)
