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| Format: | Artículo científico |
| Language: | en |
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Acta biomaterialia
2026
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| Online Access: | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41519358/ |
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| _version_ | 1868266100240678913 |
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| author | Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław |
| author_facet | Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław |
| collection | PubMed - marine biology |
| contents | Morphogenesis of the diamond-type stereom microlattice and the origin of saddle-shaped minimal surfaces in the echinoderm skeleton. Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław Animals Starfish Morphogenesis Diamond Surface Properties Echinodermata Actins Echinoderm endoskeleton has a unique trabecular microstructure, called stereom, which can exhibit highly ordered geometries. A striking example of these geometries is the recently discovered "diamond-type" stereom, characterized by a diamond triply periodic minimal surface (D-TPMS) and distinguished by exceptional mechanical and structural properties. Despite its promise for engineering applications, the morphogenesis of this microarchitecture remains poorly understood. Here, we applied a multimodal imaging and labeling approach to investigate the developmental processes underlying the formation of the diamond-type stereom in adults of a starfish Protoreaster nodosus. We showed that this stereom type develops through two principal marginal growth patterns: trabecular trifurcation, which typically occurs horizontally on flat external plate surfaces, oriented approximately along the crystallographic {111} planes of the d-TPMS; and trabecular bifurcation, which generally occurs along plate edges and between trifurcating zones, aligned with the crystallographic {100} planes of the d-TPMS. Although these growth patterns may proceed at different rates, they are tightly coordinated, producing the coherent D-TPMS microarchitecture. Furthermore, we demonstrated that F-actin cytoskeletal deposition is consistently associated with active biomineralization fronts in both diamond-type and less ordered, galleried stereom. Notably, the formation of lateral bridges between adjacent stereom trabeculae is often preceded by catenoid-like F-actin structures, suggesting a guiding and templating role for the cytoskeleton in building trabecular connectivity and shaping its curvature. Given the recurrence of saddle-like features across stereom types, we hypothesize that minimal-surface geometries may emerge from tension-driven cytoskeletal dynamics acting as physical templates during biomineralization. Our observations underscore the critical involvement of the cytoskeleton in adult echinoderm biomineralization. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Triple periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are geometrically regular, three-dimensionally repeating surfaces that minimize area by maintaining zero mean curvature. Among them, the diamond-type (D-TPMS) is notable for exceptional mechanical stability, uniform porosity, and low surface area-to-volume ratio. Although TPMS-like microarchitectures occur in nature, D-TPMS structures, with large lattice parameters (>10 µm) are exceedingly rare; one natural example is the stereom of certain echinoderms. Yet the mechanism governing the formation of such ordered microstructures remains unresolved. We applied a multi-modal approach to investigate principles of diamond-type stereom morphogenesis. Our results provide key insight into the growth dynamics of this microarchitecture and highlight the essential role of the cytoskeleton, particularly F-actin, in guiding trabecular connectivity and the emergence of minimal-surface geometry, in both periodic and more irregular stereom types. |
| format | Artículo científico |
| id | pubmed_41519358 |
| institution | PubMed |
| language | en |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publisher | Acta biomaterialia |
| record_format | pubmed |
| spellingShingle | Morphogenesis of the diamond-type stereom microlattice and the origin of saddle-shaped minimal surfaces in the echinoderm skeleton. Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław Animals Starfish Morphogenesis Diamond Surface Properties Echinodermata Actins Morphogenesis of the diamond-type stereom microlattice and the origin of saddle-shaped minimal surfaces in the echinoderm skeleton. Humański, Kamil Facchini, Giulio Croce, Jenifer Kołbuk, Dorota Dubois, Philippe Gorzelak, Przemysław Animals Starfish Morphogenesis Diamond Surface Properties Echinodermata Actins Echinoderm endoskeleton has a unique trabecular microstructure, called stereom, which can exhibit highly ordered geometries. A striking example of these geometries is the recently discovered "diamond-type" stereom, characterized by a diamond triply periodic minimal surface (D-TPMS) and distinguished by exceptional mechanical and structural properties. Despite its promise for engineering applications, the morphogenesis of this microarchitecture remains poorly understood. Here, we applied a multimodal imaging and labeling approach to investigate the developmental processes underlying the formation of the diamond-type stereom in adults of a starfish Protoreaster nodosus. We showed that this stereom type develops through two principal marginal growth patterns: trabecular trifurcation, which typically occurs horizontally on flat external plate surfaces, oriented approximately along the crystallographic {111} planes of the d-TPMS; and trabecular bifurcation, which generally occurs along plate edges and between trifurcating zones, aligned with the crystallographic {100} planes of the d-TPMS. Although these growth patterns may proceed at different rates, they are tightly coordinated, producing the coherent D-TPMS microarchitecture. Furthermore, we demonstrated that F-actin cytoskeletal deposition is consistently associated with active biomineralization fronts in both diamond-type and less ordered, galleried stereom. Notably, the formation of lateral bridges between adjacent stereom trabeculae is often preceded by catenoid-like F-actin structures, suggesting a guiding and templating role for the cytoskeleton in building trabecular connectivity and shaping its curvature. Given the recurrence of saddle-like features across stereom types, we hypothesize that minimal-surface geometries may emerge from tension-driven cytoskeletal dynamics acting as physical templates during biomineralization. Our observations underscore the critical involvement of the cytoskeleton in adult echinoderm biomineralization. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE: Triple periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are geometrically regular, three-dimensionally repeating surfaces that minimize area by maintaining zero mean curvature. Among them, the diamond-type (D-TPMS) is notable for exceptional mechanical stability, uniform porosity, and low surface area-to-volume ratio. Although TPMS-like microarchitectures occur in nature, D-TPMS structures, with large lattice parameters (>10 µm) are exceedingly rare; one natural example is the stereom of certain echinoderms. Yet the mechanism governing the formation of such ordered microstructures remains unresolved. We applied a multi-modal approach to investigate principles of diamond-type stereom morphogenesis. Our results provide key insight into the growth dynamics of this microarchitecture and highlight the essential role of the cytoskeleton, particularly F-actin, in guiding trabecular connectivity and the emergence of minimal-surface geometry, in both periodic and more irregular stereom types. |
| title | Morphogenesis of the diamond-type stereom microlattice and the origin of saddle-shaped minimal surfaces in the echinoderm skeleton. |
| topic | Animals Starfish Morphogenesis Diamond Surface Properties Echinodermata Actins |
| url | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41519358/ |