The application of mass cytometry to developmental biology has revolutionized our understanding of cellular dynamics during embryogenesis and organ development. This chapter builds upon the concepts introduced in earlier sections, particularly Chapter 28 on Reproductive Medicine and Fetal Development, to explore how mass cytometry is unveiling the intricate processes of cellular differentiation and lineage specification.
Mapping Cellular Trajectories During Embryogenesis
Mass cytometry’s ability to simultaneously measure dozens of cellular markers has enabled researchers to track cellular trajectories with unprecedented resolution during embryonic development. Setty et al. (2016) introduced Wishbone, a computational method that identifies bifurcating developmental trajectories from single-cell data. This algorithm, when applied to mass cytometry data, has allowed for the detailed mapping of cell fate decisions during early embryogenesis (Setty et al., 2016, Nature Biotechnology, 34(6), 637-645).
Building on this foundation, a recent study by Mittnenzweig et al. (2021) published in Nature, “A single-embryo, single-cell time-resolved model for mouse gastrulation,” used a combination of flow cytometry and spatial transcriptomics to create a comprehensive atlas of mouse embryo development. This work provided unprecedented insights into the spatial and temporal dynamics of cellular differentiation during early embryogenesis.
