Call for papers – The Extracellular Environment in Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells

Development, host of the Node, invites you to submit your latest research to our upcoming Special Issue – The Extracellular Environment in Development, Regeneration and Stem Cells. This issue will be coordinated by Guest Editors Alex Hughes (University of Pennsylvania) and Rashmi Priya (The Francis Crick Institute), working alongside our team of research-active Editors.

Developmental biology is often viewed as the behaviour of cells, including, for example, how the regulation of genomic information and signal transduction influences cell morphology, differentiation and migration, which are fundamental to developmental processes such as morphogenesis and patterning. However, the environment beyond the cell is far from static and inert. Cells and tissues do not develop in isolation, and the local physical environment, including its geometry, material properties and fluid forces, provides mechanical cues and influences signal propagation, both within and between tissues and organs. Animal cells also regulate their environment through the secretion of extracellular molecules, which are dynamically remodelled during development, homeostasis, wounding and regeneration, and are likely to have contributed to the evolution of multicellularity. In plants, cell wall composition contributes to the growth and function of different tissues. Furthermore, extracellular factors are essential for the construction of biominerals and structural materials across kingdoms, including lignin, chitin, bone and keratin. The importance of extracellular cues is becoming increasingly evident with the generation of complex stem cell-based models of development that require specific extracellular culture conditions. In this special issue, we seek to highlight papers that look beyond the cell and focus on the influence of the physical environment in instructing developmental processes both in vivo and in vitro.

The deadline for submitting research papers is 1 March 2026.

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