{
  "abstract": "The role of morphogenetic forces in cell fate specification is an area of intense interest. Using an ectopically expressed nonphosphorylatable mutant of β-catenin (Y654F) in human embryonic stem cell colonies, we provide evidence that impeding tension-dependent Src-mediated β-catenin phosphorylation compromises BMP4-driven Brachyury (T) expression. This impediment also disrupts the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition essential for mesoderm specification. Mechanistically, the Y654F mutation prevents the translocation of the junctional and cytoskeletal pool of β-catenin to the nucleus. However, saturation of Wnt signaling with exogenous Wnt3a or the inhibition of GSK3β rescues mesoderm expression. These findings suggest that BMP4 initiates a force-dependent junctional β-catenin translocation upstream of both Wnt secretion and cytosolic Wnt/β-catenin stabilization to drive mesoderm specification. Ultimately, our work highlights the importance of force-dependent Wnt/β-catenin signaling in the self-organization of tissues during developmental processes, such as gastrulation, and emphasizes a role for fine-tuned molecular regulation of the Wnt signaling pathway.",
  "abstract_shown": true,
  "affiliations": [
    "Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco and University of California, Berkeley, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA; Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA",
    "Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA",
    "Center for Bioengineering and Tissue Regeneration, Department of Surgery, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 9443, USA",
    "Graduate Program in Bioengineering, University of California, San Francisco and University of California Berkeley, San Francisco, CA 9443, USA",
    "Snyder Institute for Chronic Diseases, Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada",
    "Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC HA 0E9, Canada",
    "Department of Bioengineering, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 0E9, Canada",
    "Department of Bioengineering, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Centre for Structural Biology, Rosalind and Morris Goodman Cancer Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 1A3, Canada",
    "Department of Bioengineering and Therapeutic Sciences, Department of Radiation Oncology, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA",
    "Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA",
    "UCSF Comprehensive Cancer Center, Helen Diller Family Cancer Research Center, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA",
    "Department of Pediatrics, Cedars-Sinai Guerin Children's, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA"
  ],
  "article_type": null,
  "arxiv": null,
  "author_total": 8,
  "authors": [
    {
      "affs": [
        0,
        1,
        2,
        3
      ],
      "name": "Nadia M.E. Ayad",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-4684-1943"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4,
        1
      ],
      "name": "Aisha Almsoud"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        1,
        5
      ],
      "name": "Johnathon N. Lakins",
      "orcid": "0000-0002-1686-5063"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        6,
        7
      ],
      "name": "Ajinkya Ghagre",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-2915-0937"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        7,
        1,
        8,
        9,
        10
      ],
      "name": "Allen J. Ehrlicher",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-3030-979X"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        11
      ],
      "name": "Ophir D. Klein"
    },
    {
      "affs": [
        4
      ],
      "name": "FuiBoon Kai"
    },
    {
      "name": "Valerie Marie Weaver",
      "orcid": "0000-0003-4786-6752"
    }
  ],
  "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ps7y3kvxc7se.bib",
  "cited_by": 8,
  "doi": "10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014",
  "fulltext_url": null,
  "id": "9ps7y3kvxc7se",
  "issns": [
    "1534-5807",
    "1878-1551"
  ],
  "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014",
  "language": "en",
  "licence": "CC-BY",
  "licence_label": "CC BY",
  "licence_source": "journal",
  "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
  "metadata_licence": null,
  "native_subjects": [
    [
      "openalex",
      "1312|Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer"
    ]
  ],
  "openalex": "W4384470816",
  "pdf_url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1534580726002388/pdf",
  "pmcid": "PMC10370032",
  "pmid": "37503095",
  "published": "2026-07-13",
  "publisher": "Elsevier BV",
  "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ps7y3kvxc7se.ris",
  "sources": [
    {
      "first_seen": "2026-10-30T13:26:48Z",
      "native_id": "W4384470816",
      "source": "openalex",
      "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.devcel.2026.06.014"
    }
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  "subjects": [
    {
      "field": "biochemistry",
      "origin": "openalex:1312|Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and cancer",
      "subfield": "molecular-biology"
    }
  ],
  "title": "Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells",
  "title_text": "Tissue tension permits β-catenin phosphorylation to drive mesoderm specification in human embryonic stem cells",
  "type": "peer-reviewed",
  "updated_at": "2026-11-04T13:21:07Z",
  "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/9ps7y3kvxc7se",
  "venue": "Developmental Cell",
  "versions": []
}