PROJECT B09
Morphogenesis of the Trophoblast Lineage during Blastocyst to Egg Cylinder Transition
Implantation in mammals is a critical process that allows the embryo to connect to the maternal tissues during the early stages of pregnancy. If the embryo fails to implant its development is compromised and pregnancy is discontinued. During implantation the polar trophectoderm (TE) of the mammalian blastocyst transforms into extraembryonic ectoderm (ExE) consisting of trophoblast stem cells that give rise to the placenta. How the trophoblast lineage in the implanting embryo gets reorganized from an epithelial monolayer (polar TE) into a radially polarized cohort with a central lumen (ExE) is still unknown. In the framework of this CRC we aim to dissect the morphogenetic process that mediates the establishment of membrane domains in the peri-implantation trophoblast.
