PNAS: Cell division in embryos is not a typical symmetry phenomenon

As cell biologists, Université de Montréal professor Greg FitzHarris and his PhD student Lia Paim are very interested in fertility and what goes on inside the eggs and embryos of the mice they study in the lab

Their latest findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could change the understanding of one specific aspect of cell division and open the door to further research into how cell division plays a role in the viability of embryos, even human embryos.

To find out more, we asked Fitzharris what his and his co-authors' work is about

Q: It's a bit of a surprise that you put forward this new point of view

Most experiments in our laboratory are about embryonic development

The mouse embryo is also a unique environment for studying cell division

In one of our experiments, Lia discovered that something unusual happens during cell division

She realized that this particular pattern was something the researchers had never discovered before

Q: Why are you surprised by what you see?

A: The traditional textbook view of cytokinesis is that cytokinesis occurs in a symmetrical manner, i.

Lia discovered that molecules called cell polarity proteins have an important effect on cell division in embryos

Lia's observations underscore that simple studies of cells in a dish sometimes oversimplify reality

Q: How does this cell polarity affect the mechanism of cell division?

a.

Q: Is this what you are going to do?

A: Actually, these were Dr.

Q: Finally, do you think your observations will change the way cell division is described in science textbooks?

A: Maybe

article title

Cell size and polarization determine cytokinesis furrow ingression dynamics in mouse embryos