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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Stem Cells. Oct 26, 2021; 13(10): 1382-1393
Published online Oct 26, 2021. doi: 10.4252/wjsc.v13.i10.1382
Unveiling the morphogenetic code: A new path at the intersection of physical energies and chemical signaling
Riccardo Tassinari, Claudia Cavallini, Elena Olivi, Valentina Taglioli, Chiara Zannini, Carlo Ventura
Riccardo Tassinari, Claudia Cavallini, Elena Olivi, Valentina Taglioli, Chiara Zannini, Carlo Ventura, National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems – ELDOR LAB, Bologna 40129, Italy
Author contributions: Tassinari R and Cavallini C equally contributed to this work with literature review and analysis; Ventura C conceived and designed the study and wrote the paper; all authors equally contributed to this paper with drafting, critical revision and editing, and approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No potential conflicts of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Carlo Ventura, MD, PhD, Director, Full Professor, National Laboratory of Molecular Biology and Stem Cell Engineering, National Institute of Biostructures and Biosystems – ELDOR LAB, at the Innovation Accelerator, CNR, Via Piero Gobetti 101, Bologna 40129, Italy. carlo.ventura@unibo.it
Received: March 15, 2021
Peer-review started: March 15, 2021
First decision: May 6, 2021
Revised: May 16, 2021
Accepted: September 10, 2021
Article in press: September 10, 2021
Published online: October 26, 2021
Processing time: 224 Days and 15.4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The capability of biological systems to create dynamically evolving shapes, up to large-scale anatomy, raises a number of fundamental questions that are only partially addressed in terms of molecular signaling. Physical energies, including mechanical and electromagnetic waves, afford substantial control of somatic and stem cell fate under normal and pathological conditions. This editorial focuses on the remarkable role of bioelectricity in shape generation, and maintenance, up to growth regulatory patterning that lead to the specification of tissues/organs and of the whole individual. Implications of bioelectrical signaling in tissue regeneration and in the control of malignant transformation are also discussed.