Interactions of different vegetal cells with mesomeres during early stages of sea urchin development

Development ◽  
1991 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 881-890 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Khaner ◽  
F. Wilt

It has been known from results obtained in the classical experiments on sea urchin embryos that cell isolation and transplantation showed extensive interactions between the early blastomeres and/or their descendants. In the experiments reported here a systematic reexamination of recombination of mesomeres and their progeny (which come from the animal hemisphere) with various vegetal cells derived from blastomeres of the 32- and 64-cell stage was carried out. Cells were marked with lineage tracers to follow which cell gave rise to what structures, and newly available molecular markers have been used to analyze different structures characteristic of regional differentiation. Large micromeres form spicules and induce gut and pigment cells in mesomeres, conforming to previous results. Small micromeres, a cell type not heretofore examined, gave rise to no recognizable structure and had very limited ability to evoke poorly differentiated gut tissue in mesomeres. Macromeres and their descendants, Veg 1 and Veg 2, form primarily what their normal fate dictated, though both did have some capacity to form spicules, presumably by formation from secondary mesenchyme. Macromeres and their descendants were not potent inducers of vegetal structures in animal cells, but they suppress the latent ability of mesomeres to form vegetal structures. The results lead us to propose that the significant interactions during normal development may be principally suppressive effects of mesomeres on one another and of adjacent vegetal cells on mesomeres.

Zygote ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (S1) ◽  
pp. S42-S43 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tetsuya Kominami

Sea urchin pluteus larvae contain dozens of pigment cells in their ectoderm. These pigment cells are the descendants of the veg2 blastomeres of the 60-cell stage embryo. According to the fate map made by Ruffins and Ettensohn, the prospective pigment cells occupy the central region of the vegetal plate. Most of these prospective pigment cells exclusively give rise to pigment cells. Therefore, specification of the pigment cell lineage should occur at some point between the 60-cell and mesenchyme blastula stage. However, the detailed process of the specification of the pigment lineage is unknown.When are pigment cells specified? Are cell interactions necessary for the specification? Do founder cells exist? To answer these questions, I treated embryos with Ca2+-free seawater during the cleavage stage and examined the number of pigment cells observed in pluteus larvae. Treatment at 5.5–8.5 h and especially 7.5–10.5 h postfertilisation markedly reduced the number of pigment cells. The decrease was statistically significant. On the other hand, the treatment at 3.5–6.5 h or 9.5–12.5 h never reduced the number of pigment cells. By examining the frequency of the appearance of embryos whose numbers of pigment cells were less than 20, it was also found that the numbers of pigment cells were frequently in multiples of 4. Embryos having 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20 pigment cells were more frequently observed. Statistics indicated that the frequency of appearance was not random. These results indicated that cell contacts are necessary for the specification of pigment cells and that the specification occurs from 7 to 10 h postfertilisation. The results also suggest that the founder cells, if they exist, divide twice before they differentiate into pigment cells.


MRS Bulletin ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 24 (10) ◽  
pp. 27-31 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Boal

Despite a variety of shapes and sizes, the generic mechanical structure of cells is remarkably similar from one cell type to the next. All cells are bounded by a plasma membrane, a fluid sheet that controls the passage of materials into and out of the cell. Plant cells and bacteria reinforce this membrane with a cell wall, permitting the cell to operate at an elevated osmotic pressure. Simple cells, such as the bacterium shown in Figure 1a, possess a fairly homogeneous interior containing the cell's genetic blueprint and protein workhorses, but no mechanical elements. In contrast, as can be seen in Figure 1b, plant and animal cells contain internal compartments and a filamentous cytoskeleton—a network of biological ropes, cables, and poles that helps maintain the cell's shape and organize its contents.Four principal types of filaments are found in the cytoskeleton: spectrin, actin, microtubules, and a family of intermediate filaments. Not all filaments are present in all cells. The chemical composition of the filaments shows only limited variation from one cell to another, even in organisms as diverse as humans and yeasts. Membranes have a more variable composition, consisting of a bi-layer of dual-chain lipid molecules in which are embedded various proteins and frequently a moderate concentration of cholesterol. The similarity of the cell's mechanical elements in chemical composition and physical characteristics encourages us to search for universal strategies that have developed in nature for the engineering specifications of the cell. In this article, we concentrate on the cytoskeleton and its filaments.


Development ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 116 (4) ◽  
pp. 1113-1122 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. Bowerman ◽  
F.E. Tax ◽  
J.H. Thomas ◽  
J.R. Priess

We describe two different cell interactions that appear to be required for the proper development of a pair of bilaterally symmetrical cells in Caenorhabditis elegans called the intestinal valve cells. Previous experiments have shown that at the beginning of the 4-cell stage of embryogenesis, two sister blastomeres called ABa and ABp are equivalent in development potential. We show that cell interactions between ABp and a neighboring 4-cell-stage blastomere called P2 distinguish the fates of ABa and ABp by inducing descendants of ABp to produce the intestinal valve cells, a cell type not made by ABa. A second cell interaction appears to occur later in embryogenesis when two bilaterally symmetrical descendants of ABp, which both have the potential to produce valve cells, contact each other; production of the valve cells subsequently becomes limited to only one of the two descendants. This second interaction does not occur properly if the two symmetrical descendants of ABp are prevented from contacting each other. Thus the development of the intestinal valve cells appears to require both an early cell interaction that establishes a bilaterally symmetrical pattern of cell fate and a later interaction that breaks the symmetrical cell fate pattern by restricting to only one of two cells the ability to produce a pair of valve cells.


2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (25) ◽  
pp. e2023333118
Author(s):  
Richard S. Smith ◽  
Marta Florio ◽  
Shyam K. Akula ◽  
Jennifer E. Neil ◽  
Yidi Wang ◽  
...  

Osmotic equilibrium and membrane potential in animal cells depend on concentration gradients of sodium (Na+) and potassium (K+) ions across the plasma membrane, a function catalyzed by the Na+,K+-ATPase α-subunit. Here, we describe ATP1A3 variants encoding dysfunctional α3-subunits in children affected by polymicrogyria, a developmental malformation of the cerebral cortex characterized by abnormal folding and laminar organization. To gain cell-biological insights into the spatiotemporal dynamics of prenatal ATP1A3 expression, we built an ATP1A3 transcriptional atlas of fetal cortical development using mRNA in situ hybridization and transcriptomic profiling of ∼125,000 individual cells with single-cell RNA sequencing (Drop-seq) from 11 areas of the midgestational human neocortex. We found that fetal expression of ATP1A3 is most abundant to a subset of excitatory neurons carrying transcriptional signatures of the developing subplate, yet also maintains expression in nonneuronal cell populations. Moving forward a year in human development, we profiled ∼52,000 nuclei from four areas of an infant neocortex and show that ATP1A3 expression persists throughout early postnatal development, most predominantly in inhibitory neurons, including parvalbumin interneurons in the frontal cortex. Finally, we discovered the heteromeric Na+,K+-ATPase pump complex may form nonredundant cell-type–specific α-β isoform combinations, including α3-β1 in excitatory neurons and α3-β2 in inhibitory neurons. Together, the developmental malformation phenotype of affected individuals and single-cell ATP1A3 expression patterns point to a key role for α3 in human cortex development, as well as a cell-type basis for pre- and postnatal ATP1A3-associated diseases.


2019 ◽  
Vol 218 (12) ◽  
pp. 4112-4126
Author(s):  
Alexandra Bondaz ◽  
Luca Cirillo ◽  
Patrick Meraldi ◽  
Monica Gotta

In animal cells, faithful chromosome segregation depends on the assembly of a bipolar spindle driven by the timely separation of the two centrosomes. Here we took advantage of the highly stereotypical cell divisions in Caenorhabditis elegans embryos to identify new regulators of centrosome separation. We find that at the two-cell stage, the somatic AB cell initiates centrosome separation later than the germline P1 cell. This difference is strongly exacerbated by the depletion of the kinesin-13 KLP-7/MCAK, resulting in incomplete centrosome separation at NEBD in AB but not P1. Our genetic and cell biology data indicate that this phenotype depends on cell polarity via the enrichment in AB of the mitotic kinase PLK-1, which itself limits the cortical localization of the dynein-binding NuMA orthologue LIN-5. We postulate that the timely separation of centrosomes is regulated in a cell type–dependent manner.


BMC Biology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan E. Valencia ◽  
Roberto Feuda ◽  
Dan O. Mellott ◽  
Robert D. Burke ◽  
Isabelle S. Peter

Abstract Background The evolutionary history of cell types provides insights into how morphological and functional complexity arose during animal evolution. Photoreceptor cell types are particularly broadly distributed throughout Bilateria; however, their evolutionary relationship is so far unresolved. Previous studies indicate that ciliary photoreceptors are homologous at least within chordates, and here, we present evidence that a related form of this cell type is also present in echinoderm larvae. Results Larvae of the purple sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus have photoreceptors that are positioned bilaterally in the oral/anterior apical neurogenic ectoderm. Here, we show that these photoreceptors express the transcription factor Rx, which is commonly expressed in ciliary photoreceptors, together with an atypical opsin of the GO family, opsin3.2, which localizes in particular to the cilia on the cell surface of photoreceptors. We show that these ciliary photoreceptors express the neuronal marker synaptotagmin and are located in proximity to pigment cells. Furthermore, we systematically identified additional transcription factors expressed in these larval photoreceptors and found that a majority are orthologous to transcription factors expressed in vertebrate ciliary photoreceptors, including Otx, Six3, Tbx2/3, and Rx. Based on the developmental expression of rx, these photoreceptors derive from the anterior apical neurogenic ectoderm. However, genes typically involved in eye development in bilateria, including pax6, six1/2, eya, and dac, are not expressed in sea urchin larval photoreceptors but are instead co-expressed in the hydropore canal. Conclusions Based on transcription factor expression, location, and developmental origin, we conclude that the sea urchin larval photoreceptors constitute a cell type that is likely homologous to the ciliary photoreceptors present in chordates.


2002 ◽  
Vol 22 (13) ◽  
pp. 4863-4875 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer C. Moore ◽  
Jan L. Sumerel ◽  
Bradley J. Schnackenberg ◽  
Jason A. Nichols ◽  
Athula Wikramanayake ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT cdk4 mRNA and protein are constitutively expressed in sea urchin eggs and throughout embryonic development. In contrast, cyclin D mRNA is barely detectable in eggs and early embryos, when the cell cycles consist of alternating S and M phases. Cyclin D mRNA increases dramatically in embryos at the early blastula stage and remains at a constant level throughout embryogenesis. An increase in cdk4 kinase activity occurs concomitantly with the increase in cyclin D mRNA. Ectopic expression of cyclin D mRNA in eggs arrests development before the 16-cell stage and causes eventual embryonic death, suggesting that activation of cyclin D/cdk4 in cleavage cell cycles is lethal to the embryo. In contrast, blocking cyclin D or cdk4 expression with morpholino antisense oligonucleotides results in normal development of early gastrula-stage embryos but abnormal, asymmetric larvae. These results suggest that in sea urchins, cyclin D and cdk4 are required for normal development and perhaps the patterning of the developing embryo, but may not be directly involved in regulating entry into the cell cycle.


Development ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 126 (23) ◽  
pp. 5255-5265 ◽  
Author(s):  
H.C. Sweet ◽  
P.G. Hodor ◽  
C.A. Ettensohn

In the sea urchin embryo, the micromeres act as a vegetal signaling center. These cells have been shown to induce endoderm; however, their role in mesoderm development has been less clear. We demonstrate that the micromeres play an important role in the induction of secondary mesenchyme cells (SMCs), possibly by activating the Notch signaling pathway. After removing the micromeres, we observed a significant delay in the formation of all mesodermal cell types examined. In addition, there was a marked reduction in the numbers of pigment cells, blastocoelar cells and cells expressing the SMC1 antigen, a marker for prospective SMCs. The development of skeletogenic cells and muscle cells, however, was not severely affected. Transplantation of micromeres to animal cells resulted in the induction of SMC1-positive cells, pigment cells, blastocoelar cells and muscle cells. The numbers of these cell types were less than those found in sham transplantation control embryos, suggesting that animal cells are less responsive to the micromere-derived signal than vegetal cells. Previous studies have demonstrated a role for Notch signaling in the development of SMCs. We show that the micromere-derived signal is necessary for the downregulation of the Notch protein, which is correlated with its activation, in prospective SMCs. We propose that the micromeres induce adjacent cells to form SMCs, possibly by presenting a ligand for the Notch receptor.


Zygote ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 8 (S1) ◽  
pp. S84-S84
Author(s):  
Yasuyuki Kamata ◽  
Kazuyuki Endo ◽  
Hiroyuki Nozaki ◽  
Akiko Fujiwara ◽  
Ikuo Yasumasu

It is well known that sea urchin embryos treated with lithium chloride (LiC1) develop to abnormally into vegetalised embryos, in which differentiation of ectodermal cells is inhibited. When embryos of the sea urchins, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus and Anthocidaris crassispina were treated with 20 mM LiC1 from the 8-cell stage to the corresponding early gastrula stage, they developed to vegetalised embryos with a large exogut 45 h after fertilisation. In these vegetalised embryos, high activity of alkaline phosphatase (AP) was detected histochemically at the end of the exogut where it is attached to the embryo body. High activity of AP is known to be detected specifically in the gut of sea urchin pluteus larvae by the same procedure as used in this study. Hence, we concluded that this part of the exogut is composed of the cells which develop into the cells of the gut in normal development.When exogut isolated from vegetalised embryos was cultured in the extract obtained from eggs or embryos, the end composed of the cells in which high AP activity was detected, expanded during culture and formed a large spherical structure about 24 h after the initiation of culture. The minimum concentration of extract to cause expansion of isolated exogut was 5 × 103 egg or embryo equivalent/ml ASW (artificial seawater). The extract boiled at 95 °C for 1 h also caused expansion of isolated exogut at the same concentrations as non-boiled extract. On the other hand, the extract obtained from eggs or embryos by chloroform–methanol extraction did not cause any expansion of exogut, but the aqueous phase, heat-dried and dissolved in ASW, induced expansion of isolated exogut.


Author(s):  
G. Rowden ◽  
M. G. Lewis ◽  
T. M. Phillips

Langerhans cells of mammalian stratified squamous epithelial have proven to be an enigma since their discovery in 1868. These dendritic suprabasal cells have been considered as related to melanocytes either as effete cells, or as post divisional products. Although grafting experiments seemed to demonstrate the independence of the cell types, much confusion still exists. The presence in the epidermis of a cell type with morphological features seemingly shared by melanocytes and Langerhans cells has been especially troublesome. This so called "indeterminate", or " -dendritic cell" lacks both Langerhans cells granules and melanosomes, yet it is clearly not a keratinocyte. Suggestions have been made that it is related to either Langerhans cells or melanocyte. Recent studies have unequivocally demonstrated that Langerhans cells are independent cells with immune function. They display Fc and C3 receptors on their surface as well as la (immune region associated) antigens.


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