🧵 What if one reason fertility declines with age isn’t just genetic-but mechanical?
Thrilled to share our new paper in
@NatureCellBio
:
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/11
Thrilled to share our new paper in
@NatureCellBio
:
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/11
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females - Nature Cell Biology
Cavanaugh et al. show that embryos from aged mice have increased contractility and tissue viscosity on embryonic day 4.5, which leads to poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanica...
www.nature.com
August 25, 2026 at 6:37 PM
🧵 What if one reason fertility declines with age isn’t just genetic-but mechanical?
Thrilled to share our new paper in
@NatureCellBio
:
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/11
Thrilled to share our new paper in
@NatureCellBio
:
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females… here’s what we found 👇
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
1/11
🎉 Excited to share our latest work led by Diana Hotea. Congratulations to Diana and the team for bringing this work across the finish line! 👏🔬🧫🎉
FGD1 restrains actomyosin contractility to promote suprabasal junction maturation in stratified keratinocytes journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
FGD1 restrains actomyosin contractility to promote suprabasal junction maturation in stratified keratinocytes journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
FGD1 restrains actomyosin contractility to promote suprabasal junction maturation in stratified keratinocytes
Summary: We identify FGD1 as a regulator of suprabasal adherens junction remodeling that restrains actomyosin contractility to coordinate cytoskeletal organization and epithelial tissue mechanics.
journals.biologists.com
September 23, 2026 at 11:24 AM
🎉 Excited to share our latest work led by Diana Hotea. Congratulations to Diana and the team for bringing this work across the finish line! 👏🔬🧫🎉
FGD1 restrains actomyosin contractility to promote suprabasal junction maturation in stratified keratinocytes journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
FGD1 restrains actomyosin contractility to promote suprabasal junction maturation in stratified keratinocytes journals.biologists.com/jcs/article/...
New paper out! In this project, we focused on the question how tissue mechanics is spatially controlled during development. We show that the GPCR ligand Fog acts as a “mechanogen” during Drosophila gastrulation, driving a self-organized wave of tissue invagination:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Spatial patterning of contractility by a self-organized mechanogen activity gradient underlies Drosophila gastrulation - Nature Communications
During morphogenesis patterned contractility drives tissue shape changes. Here they show that GPCR signaling and integrin activation give rise to a dynamically translocating gradient of contractility ...
www.nature.com
February 24, 2026 at 10:11 PM
New paper out! In this project, we focused on the question how tissue mechanics is spatially controlled during development. We show that the GPCR ligand Fog acts as a “mechanogen” during Drosophila gastrulation, driving a self-organized wave of tissue invagination:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
New preprint @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social by Harshath Amal and colleagues from our lab @uni-muenster.de shows how a BMP #morphogen gradient is translated into graded junctional permeability by tuning adhesion and actomyosin contractility in #Drosophila
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
February 18, 2026 at 8:43 AM
New preprint @biorxiv-devbio.bsky.social by Harshath Amal and colleagues from our lab @uni-muenster.de shows how a BMP #morphogen gradient is translated into graded junctional permeability by tuning adhesion and actomyosin contractility in #Drosophila
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
See tinyurl.com/yhbwd9xh
@sfb1348.bsky.social
New paper out!
We show how mechanosensitive adherens junction proteins link actomyosin contractility to actin assembly using in vitro reconstitution.
Huge congrats to Aurélie Favarin, Rayan Said, & all authors!
In Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#actin #myosin #mechanobiology
We show how mechanosensitive adherens junction proteins link actomyosin contractility to actin assembly using in vitro reconstitution.
Huge congrats to Aurélie Favarin, Rayan Said, & all authors!
In Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#actin #myosin #mechanobiology
January 2, 2026 at 4:00 PM
New paper out!
We show how mechanosensitive adherens junction proteins link actomyosin contractility to actin assembly using in vitro reconstitution.
Huge congrats to Aurélie Favarin, Rayan Said, & all authors!
In Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#actin #myosin #mechanobiology
We show how mechanosensitive adherens junction proteins link actomyosin contractility to actin assembly using in vitro reconstitution.
Huge congrats to Aurélie Favarin, Rayan Said, & all authors!
In Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...
#actin #myosin #mechanobiology
Our new paper by @theajacobs.bsky.social in @currentbiology.bsky.social shows how relaxation of tension, rather than active actomyosin-based force, allows opening of cell #vertices to increase #epithelial permeability shorturl.at/Wnb2n
@sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de
@sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de
Rho/Rok-dependent regulation of actomyosin contractility at tricellular junctions restricts epithelial permeability in Drosophila
Cell vertices integrate forces in epithelia and play key roles in regulating barrier
function. Jacobs et al. show that modulation of actomyosin contractility at cell vertices
controls tricellular junc...
www.cell.com
February 17, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Our new paper by @theajacobs.bsky.social in @currentbiology.bsky.social shows how relaxation of tension, rather than active actomyosin-based force, allows opening of cell #vertices to increase #epithelial permeability shorturl.at/Wnb2n
@sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de
@sfb1348.bsky.social @uni-muenster.de
But correlation ≠ causation.
So we changed contractility ourselves.
⬆️ Increase contractility in young embryos → they acquire the aged implantation phenotype.
⬇️ Reduce contractility in aged embryos → implantation competence improves.
5/11
So we changed contractility ourselves.
⬆️ Increase contractility in young embryos → they acquire the aged implantation phenotype.
⬇️ Reduce contractility in aged embryos → implantation competence improves.
5/11
August 25, 2026 at 6:37 PM
But correlation ≠ causation.
So we changed contractility ourselves.
⬆️ Increase contractility in young embryos → they acquire the aged implantation phenotype.
⬇️ Reduce contractility in aged embryos → implantation competence improves.
5/11
So we changed contractility ourselves.
⬆️ Increase contractility in young embryos → they acquire the aged implantation phenotype.
⬇️ Reduce contractility in aged embryos → implantation competence improves.
5/11
☕Embryos from aged mice have increased contractility & tissue viscosity on E4.5, causing poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanical changes in human embryos correlate with implantation potential. @katecavanaugh.bsky.social
👉https://rdcu.be/fCDVb
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👉https://rdcu.be/fCDVb
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Elevated contractility drives implantation failure in mouse embryos from aged females - Nature Cell Biology
Cavanaugh et al. show that embryos from aged mice have increased contractility and tissue viscosity on embryonic day 4.5, which leads to poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanica...
www.nature.com
August 28, 2026 at 10:25 AM
☕Embryos from aged mice have increased contractility & tissue viscosity on E4.5, causing poor spreading and attachment. Similar age-associated mechanical changes in human embryos correlate with implantation potential. @katecavanaugh.bsky.social
👉https://rdcu.be/fCDVb
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
👉https://rdcu.be/fCDVb
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Implantation is inherently a mechanical process. We find contractility is necessary and sufficient for spreading behaviors. We can artificially age embryos from young females and even rescue aged embryo spreading just by tuning contractility!
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Implantation is inherently a mechanical process. We find contractility is necessary and sufficient for spreading behaviors. We can artificially age embryos from young females and even rescue aged embryo spreading just by tuning contractility!
Fursonas are a lot like Lawyers... If you do not have a Fursona one will be assigned to you by a member of the Community. If you decide to change this Fursona at a later date, you are contractility obligated to keep the original as a secondary Fursona.
May 25, 2026 at 6:31 PM
Fursonas are a lot like Lawyers... If you do not have a Fursona one will be assigned to you by a member of the Community. If you decide to change this Fursona at a later date, you are contractility obligated to keep the original as a secondary Fursona.
wow.... opto-myosin mini-filaments that can switch speed or direction upon illumination!
cool new work from Zev Bryant and colleagues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
cool new work from Zev Bryant and colleagues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Engineering filamentous myosins for optical control of contractility
Understanding the behaviors of contractile actomyosin systems requires precise spatiotemporal control of filamentous myosin activity. Here, we develop a tool for optical control of contractility by ex...
www.biorxiv.org
August 24, 2025 at 12:03 AM
wow.... opto-myosin mini-filaments that can switch speed or direction upon illumination!
cool new work from Zev Bryant and colleagues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
cool new work from Zev Bryant and colleagues.
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...
Finally out after 9 years in the making: our study shows that developing heart and skeletal muscle tissues become substantially more contractile when they mature in a stiff environment.
rdcu.be/ecjaM
rdcu.be/ecjaM
Contractility of striated muscle tissue increases with environmental stiffness according to a power-law relationship
npj Biological Physics and Mechanics - Contractility of striated muscle tissue increases with environmental stiffness according to a power-law relationship
rdcu.be
March 5, 2025 at 5:53 PM
Finally out after 9 years in the making: our study shows that developing heart and skeletal muscle tissues become substantially more contractile when they mature in a stiff environment.
rdcu.be/ecjaM
rdcu.be/ecjaM
Optogenetic mediated contractility enables reversible control of microglial morphology and migration in vivo
Optogenetic mediated contractility enables reversible control of microglial morphology and migration in vivo
Biermeier et al. use live imaging in zebrafish to show that microglia alternate between distinct morphological states that support brain surveillance and phagocytosis. By optogenetically controlling cytoskeletal contractility, they demonstrate programmable, reversible control of microglial behavior in the living brain.
dlvr.it
April 17, 2026 at 11:23 PM
Optogenetic mediated contractility enables reversible control of microglial morphology and migration in vivo
How do #sponges coordinate their bodies despite lacking neurons and true muscles?
We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels.
My PhD story, now on BioRxiv:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Evolution
We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels.
My PhD story, now on BioRxiv:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Evolution
February 18, 2026 at 1:34 PM
How do #sponges coordinate their bodies despite lacking neurons and true muscles?
We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels.
My PhD story, now on BioRxiv:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Evolution
We show that sponges use monoamines to control water flow in their canals — reminiscent of how adrenaline regulates blood vessels.
My PhD story, now on BioRxiv:
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
#Evolution
Our work on Naegleria Myosin 2 is out!
Naegleria encodes 3 Myo2s which contract its actin network—the first evidence of contractile Myo2 outside of Amorphea.
Myo2 is actually widespread in Naegleria's relatives and correlates with fast cell crawling.
Read more: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Naegleria encodes 3 Myo2s which contract its actin network—the first evidence of contractile Myo2 outside of Amorphea.
Myo2 is actually widespread in Naegleria's relatives and correlates with fast cell crawling.
Read more: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Myosin 2 drives actin contractility in fast-crawling species outside of the amorphean lineage
Myosin 2-dependent actin contractility—the force that powers cell division and migration
in animals, fungi, and other Amorphea—had been previously unknown outside this single
eukaryotic group. Guest e...
www.cell.com
November 17, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Our work on Naegleria Myosin 2 is out!
Naegleria encodes 3 Myo2s which contract its actin network—the first evidence of contractile Myo2 outside of Amorphea.
Myo2 is actually widespread in Naegleria's relatives and correlates with fast cell crawling.
Read more: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Naegleria encodes 3 Myo2s which contract its actin network—the first evidence of contractile Myo2 outside of Amorphea.
Myo2 is actually widespread in Naegleria's relatives and correlates with fast cell crawling.
Read more: www.cell.com/current-biol...
Collective #migration requires balancing force and flexibility. @vitoryang.bsky.social, @polarityi3s.bsky.social et al. identify RhoGAP15B as a local brake on RhoA-#myosin contractility in border cells, stabilizing front protrusions and coordinating group movement rupress.org/jcb/article/...
April 9, 2026 at 7:30 PM
Collective #migration requires balancing force and flexibility. @vitoryang.bsky.social, @polarityi3s.bsky.social et al. identify RhoGAP15B as a local brake on RhoA-#myosin contractility in border cells, stabilizing front protrusions and coordinating group movement rupress.org/jcb/article/...
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Epidermal cells sculpt sensory nerve endings through actomyosin contractility
Epidermal cells sculpt sensory nerve endings through actomyosin contractility
September 1, 2026 at 11:57 AM
www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...
Epidermal cells sculpt sensory nerve endings through actomyosin contractility
Epidermal cells sculpt sensory nerve endings through actomyosin contractility
Actomyosin contractility and a threshold of cadherin cell adhesion is required during tissue fusion, say Camilla Teng @xsciteng.bsky.social, Jeffrey Bush @jeffbush.bsky.social and colleagues @ctbatucsf.bsky.social: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#Development #Adhesion
#Development #Adhesion
November 20, 2025 at 7:45 PM
Actomyosin contractility and a threshold of cadherin cell adhesion is required during tissue fusion, say Camilla Teng @xsciteng.bsky.social, Jeffrey Bush @jeffbush.bsky.social and colleagues @ctbatucsf.bsky.social: rupress.org/jcb/article/...
#Development #Adhesion
#Development #Adhesion
New paper @natcellbio.nature.com! We propose to understand embryo implantation as active wetting. Embryos from older mothers spread less because they are too contractile and viscous.
Experiments by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social and theory by MJ Franco-Oñate in my group.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Experiments by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social and theory by MJ Franco-Oñate in my group.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
August 25, 2026 at 10:03 PM
New paper @natcellbio.nature.com! We propose to understand embryo implantation as active wetting. Embryos from older mothers spread less because they are too contractile and viscous.
Experiments by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social and theory by MJ Franco-Oñate in my group.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Experiments by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social and theory by MJ Franco-Oñate in my group.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
#DBfeature
Mesenchymal cell contractility regulates villus morphogenesis and intestinal architecture
by Taylor Hinnant @taylorhinnant.bsky.social , Caroline Joo, Terry Lechler @terrylechler.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Mesenchymal cell contractility regulates villus morphogenesis and intestinal architecture
by Taylor Hinnant @taylorhinnant.bsky.social , Caroline Joo, Terry Lechler @terrylechler.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
August 8, 2025 at 12:58 PM
#DBfeature
Mesenchymal cell contractility regulates villus morphogenesis and intestinal architecture
by Taylor Hinnant @taylorhinnant.bsky.social , Caroline Joo, Terry Lechler @terrylechler.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
Mesenchymal cell contractility regulates villus morphogenesis and intestinal architecture
by Taylor Hinnant @taylorhinnant.bsky.social , Caroline Joo, Terry Lechler @terrylechler.bsky.social
www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
interesting molecules I have worked on, no 2.
Phospholamban is a 52 residue protein which regulates heart muscle contractility, in it's native state, it acts as a brake, when phosphorylated, it potentiates cardiac contractility. 🧪
Phospholamban is a 52 residue protein which regulates heart muscle contractility, in it's native state, it acts as a brake, when phosphorylated, it potentiates cardiac contractility. 🧪
November 22, 2024 at 10:26 AM
interesting molecules I have worked on, no 2.
Phospholamban is a 52 residue protein which regulates heart muscle contractility, in it's native state, it acts as a brake, when phosphorylated, it potentiates cardiac contractility. 🧪
Phospholamban is a 52 residue protein which regulates heart muscle contractility, in it's native state, it acts as a brake, when phosphorylated, it potentiates cardiac contractility. 🧪
An interesting paper by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social shows that aged embryos have higher contractility than younger ones, which impedes their spreading and attaching during implantation. Potential to help with embryo screening!
👉Also, she's on the job market right now!👈
👇👇👇
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
👉Also, she's on the job market right now!👈
👇👇👇
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
August 28, 2026 at 3:47 PM
An interesting paper by @katecavanaugh.bsky.social shows that aged embryos have higher contractility than younger ones, which impedes their spreading and attaching during implantation. Potential to help with embryo screening!
👉Also, she's on the job market right now!👈
👇👇👇
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
👉Also, she's on the job market right now!👈
👇👇👇
doi.org/10.1038/s415...
1/4 of kids in the study had subclinical cardiac contractility changes three months after mild or asymptomatic COVID.
"But the most important finding ... was ... Children with subclinical dysfunction had significantly fewer regulatory T cells (Tregs) - the immune system’s main braking mechanism"
"But the most important finding ... was ... Children with subclinical dysfunction had significantly fewer regulatory T cells (Tregs) - the immune system’s main braking mechanism"
🚨🧵by Zdenek Vrozina on XTwitter, on Feb 26:
"When we talk about COVID in children, we often hear - mild disease.
The real question we rarely ask is this - what if some children leave the infection with a silent, measurable cardiovascular footprint..."
22-tweet 🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/20270...
"When we talk about COVID in children, we often hear - mild disease.
The real question we rarely ask is this - what if some children leave the infection with a silent, measurable cardiovascular footprint..."
22-tweet 🧵
threadreaderapp.com/thread/20270...
February 27, 2026 at 3:45 AM
1/4 of kids in the study had subclinical cardiac contractility changes three months after mild or asymptomatic COVID.
"But the most important finding ... was ... Children with subclinical dysfunction had significantly fewer regulatory T cells (Tregs) - the immune system’s main braking mechanism"
"But the most important finding ... was ... Children with subclinical dysfunction had significantly fewer regulatory T cells (Tregs) - the immune system’s main braking mechanism"
Well, we also find increased contractility in the aged embryo also correlates with faster compaction at the 8-cell stage. Could this be a possible metric to see which ones will implant?
October 1, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Well, we also find increased contractility in the aged embryo also correlates with faster compaction at the 8-cell stage. Could this be a possible metric to see which ones will implant?