PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Wallis Nahaboo
AU  - Sema Elif Eski
AU  - Marjorie Vermeersch
AU  - Bechara Saykali
AU  - Daniel Monteyne
AU  - Thomas M. Magin
AU  - Nicole Schwarz
AU  - An Zwijsen
AU  - David Perez-Morga
AU  - Sumeet Pal Singh
AU  - Isabelle Migeotte
TI  - Keratin dynamics govern the establishment of the maternal-fetal interface
AID  - 10.1101/2021.04.07.438772
DP  - 2021 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 2021.04.07.438772
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/08/2021.04.07.438772.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2021/04/08/2021.04.07.438772.full
AB  - After implantation, the mouse embryo undergoes gastrulation and forms mesoderm and endoderm. Mesoderm participates in embryonic and extra-embryonic tissues including the amnion, yolk sac, chorion and allantois, the umbilical cord precursor.Extra-embryonic mesoderm is rich in intermediate filaments. Two-photon live imaging of keratin 8-eYFP knock-in embryos allowed recording nucleation and elongation of keratin filaments, which formed apical cables coordinated across multiple cells in amnion, allantois, and blood islands. Embryos lacking all keratins displayed a deflated exocoelomic cavity, a narrow thick amnion, and a short allantois, indicating a hitherto unknown role for keratin filaments in post-implantation extra-embryonic membranes morphogenesis.Single-cell RNA sequencing of mesoderm cells, microdissected amnion, chorion, and allantois provided an interactive atlas of transcriptomes with germ layer and regional information. Keratin 8high mesenchymal cells in contact with the exocoelom shared a cytoskeleton and adhesion expression profile that might explain the adaptation of extra-embryonic structures to the increasing mechanical pressure.Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.