Fluid transport properties dominate blastocyst expansion over mechanics
Lumens populate most of our organs and their size, which dynamically changes throughout the day and lifetime, can influence their function. During mammalian development, the first lumen appears in the blastocyst. Surface epithelial cells pump ions to build an osmotic gradient that draws water, which inflates the embryo and stretches the epithelium as well as the zona pellucida, an elastic shell…
We haven't written up this one. bioRxiv has the full story — the link below goes straight to it.
