The chemo-mechanical regulation of brain development

Date

Jan 28, 2026

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Kristian Franze

Affiliation

FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg, Max Planck Ctr. for Physics & Medicine & University of Cambridge

Series

Physics of Life Seminar

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Host

Elias Barriga

Description

We are pleased to announce our next PoL Research Seminar with a talk by Kristian Franze from FAU University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, the Max Planck Zentrum für Physik und Medizin, and the University of Cambridge

When?  Wednesday, 28. January 2026, 11:00 am
Where? BCUBE, E 73-E75

Abstract:

During development, cells are highly dynamic and respond to a plethora of chemical and mechanical signal in their environment.  During brain morphogenesis, for example, neurons extend axons over large distances along well-defined pathways. Axon pathfinding is regulated by both gradients of chemical guidance cues and gradients in tissue stiffness. However, we currently know very little about how these signals interact. Using a combination of ex vivo and in vivo approaches, we identified the mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1 as a key integrator of chemical and mechanical signals. Downregulation of Piezo1 in the brain parenchyma surrounding healthy growing axons led to aberrant neuronal growth patterns with reduced fasciculation and pathfinding errors. We found a decrease in both the chemical guidance cues Semaphorin3A and Slit1 and brain stiffness. While the stiffness of cells was unaffected, cell-cell adhesion was significantly reduced, leading to a fluidization of the tissue. Whereas a decrease in chemical guidance cues did not lead to tissue softening, tissue softening led to a decrease in guidance cues. Hence, tissue stiffness not only directly impacts neuronal growth but also indirectly by regulating the availability of long-range chemical guidance cues far away from the actual mechanical signal in the surrounding tissue. Our data thus strongly indicate that chemical and mechanical signaling pathways are intimately linked, and that their interaction is crucial for morphogenetic events. 

Links

• See this event on the Physics of Life website

Last modified: Jan 28, 2026, 7:39:06 AM