Metabolism shapes life

In stem cell-based mouse embryo models, they were able to show that an active sugar metabolism is necessary for cells to develop correctly into mesoderm and endoderm, i.e. the germ layers from which bones, muscles, blood and internal organs such as the liver or lungs later develop. If glycolysis was blocked, the cells often decided in favour of the ectoderm instead, from which the nervous system emerges. Particularly surprising: even without energy production through glycolysis, the researchers were able to restore the original developmental pathway through targeted activation of signalling pathways such as Wnt, Nodal and Fgf. This means that the role of glycolysis as a regulator of signalling processes can be clearly separated from its bioenergetic function. In a second line of research, the teams investigated why embryonic stem cell models often develop differently even though they grow under the same conditions. With the help of machine learning and image analyses, they were able to show that early differences in cell metabolism are decisive for whether a model develops embryotypically or not. Models with active glycolysis were more similar to a natural embryo than those in which oxidative processes dominated. The possibility of improving the development and predictability of these models through targeted metabolic control opens up new perspectives for biomedical research, especially for disease-related cell models or toxicological studies. Both studies mark a paradigm shift in developmental biology by showing that metabolic processes are not only the basis of life, but also the driving force behind cellular decisions and the structuring of the embryo.

Press release of the "idw - Informationsdienst Wissenschaft" from 16 April 2025