In-vitro Paraxial Mesoderm Morphogenesis in 3D Artificial Extracellular Micro Environments

Paraxial mesoderm plays a significant role in somitogenesis, which further gives rise to skeletal muscle, tendon, cartilage and skin. In vitro studies have been mainly performed in 2D culture; however, this system can be overly reductionistic and disregards the complexity of the physiological structures, including multicellular interaction and the interaction between cells and extracellular matrices (ECM) . By utilizing 3D organoid culture and artificial ECM, we will investigate the role of the ECM in the development of paraxial mesoderm and further specification into dermomyotome and sclerotome. We hypothesize that 3D artificial microenvironments will allow us develop reproducible and realistic in-vitro models of paraxial mesoderm morphogenesis by taking the biophysical and biochemical forces of the ECM into account.