Ion currents in embryo development |
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| Authors: | Elisabetta Tosti Raffaele Boni Alessandra Gallo |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Department of Biology and Evolution of Marine Organisms, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Naples, Italy;2. Department of Sciences, University of Basilicata, Potenza, Italy |
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| Abstract: | Ion channels are proteins expressed in the plasma membrane of electrogenic cells. In the zygote and blastomeres of the developing embryo, electrical modifications result from ion currents that flow through these channels. This phenomenon implies that ion current activity exerts a specific developmental function, and plays a crucial role in signal transduction and the control of embryogenesis, from the early cleavage stages and during growth and development of the embryo. This review describes the involvement of ion currents in early embryo development, from marine invertebrates to human, focusing on the occurrence, modulation, and dynamic role of ion fluxes taking place on the zygote and blastomere plasma membrane, and at the intercellular communication between embryo cell stages. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:6–18, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. |
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| Keywords: | embryo early development ion channels ion currents gap junctions |
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