Dynamical landscapes of cell fate decisions.

Interface Focus

Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, UK.

Published: August 2022

The generation of cellular diversity during development involves differentiating cells transitioning between discrete cell states. In the 1940s, the developmental biologist Conrad Waddington introduced a landscape metaphor to describe this process. The developmental path of a cell was pictured as a ball rolling through a terrain of branching valleys with cell fate decisions represented by the branch points at which the ball decides between one of two available valleys. Here we discuss progress in constructing quantitative dynamical models inspired by this view of cellular differentiation. We describe a framework based on catastrophe theory and dynamical systems methods that provides the foundations for quantitative geometric models of cellular differentiation. These models can be fit to experimental data and used to make quantitative predictions about cellular differentiation. The theory indicates that cell fate decisions can be described by a small number of decision structures, such that there are only two distinct ways in which cells make a binary choice between one of two fates. We discuss the biological relevance of these mechanisms and suggest the approach is broadly applicable for the quantitative analysis of differentiation dynamics and for determining principles of developmental decisions.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9184965PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsfs.2022.0002DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

cell fate
12
fate decisions
12
cellular differentiation
12
cell
5
dynamical landscapes
4
landscapes cell
4
decisions
4
decisions generation
4
cellular
4
generation cellular
4

Similar Publications

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!