Publications

In this extraordinary paper mouse gastruloids have been embedded in 3-D Life hydrogels without any biomimetic modifications at stiffnesses ranging from as low as <30 Pa to 399 Pa (shear modulus) to address the impact of the mechanical environment on distinct developmental outcomes. By embedding gastruloids in this bioinert hydrogel the authors developed a robust and versatile platform for probing gastruloid development in a mechanically and chemically controlled environment allowing a precise tracking of gastruloid dynamics and reproducible quantitative measurements. In contrast to traditional matrices such as Matrigel, this hydrogel provided a means to separate mechanical and chemical contributions to gastruloid development by specifically avoiding cell-matrix adhesion and the remodeling and degrading of the surrounding matrix. Using this hydrogel composition the authors show successfully how changing the stiffness surrounding the gastruloids and embedding timing reveals the uncoupling of gastruloid patterning and gene expression. This study addresses a key challenge in developmental biology: disentangling the mechanical and chemical contributions of the environment to gastruloid development, an issue often confounded by the variability and undefined composition of traditional matrices such as Matrigel.