Studies on the expression of intracellular and surface polarity in animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos cultured on various substrata

The expression of intracellular and surface polarity in animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos (stage 10) cultured on various substrata was studied by electron microscopy. When animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos were cultured on type I collagen- or gelatin-coated dishes until control embryos reached stage 23, the cells in confluent layers expressed an apical-basal polarity so that the apical surface membrane domain faced the culture medium. However, the cells in confluent layers cultured on naked plastic dishes were suppressed to express intracellular and surface polarity. In addition, single attached cells which were formed by being sparsely plated neither spread on any substrata nor displayed the apical-basal polarity perpendicular to the dishes. These results indicate that the expression of intracellular and surface polarity in cultured animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos requires not only cell-cell contact but also an adhesive substrata such as type I collagen or gelatin.     

Imbibition of white spruce seeds and somatic embryos: A study of morphological changes in an environmental scanning electron microscope and potassium leakage

Summary Potassium leakage and morphological changes during imbibition of white spruce [Picea glauca (Moench) Voss] seeds and somatic embryos were investigated. A single desiccated somatic embryo, a single somatic embryo exposed to a high relative humidity environment for 2 d, and a single dry zygotic embryo leaked similar amounts of potassium over a 120-min period of imbibition in liquid germination medium. A seed without a seed coat leaked two and eight times more potassium than a single whole seed and a single zygotic embryo, respectively. Nearly 50% of the potassium leaked for all tissues was leaked within the first 20 min of imbibition. Exposure of somatic embryos to an environment with high relative humidity resulted in a reduction in the percentage of potassium leaked after 80 and min to levels equivalent to those for zygotic embryos. Using an environmental scanning electron microscope, we found that desiccated somatic embryos and dry zygotic embryos had wrinkled surface cells, with cells in the surface of zygotic embryos being more shrunken in appearance. Imbibition of both types of embryos in water resulted in turgid surface cells after 2 h. Imbibition in liquid germination medium did not cause much hydration of surface cells, which still had wrinkled appearances after 2 h. Finally, imbibition on filter paper on semisolidified germination medium resulted in slower hydration of somatic and zygotic embryos. Cells near the medium appeared hydrated while cotyledon surface cells furthest from the medium resembled cells in desiccated embryos.     

The fate of surface cell layers of Daucus carota (L.) embryos raised in suspension culture

The ultrastructure and fate of surface cells covering mature somatic embryos of Daucus carota grown in suspension culture were analyzed and new information obtained concerning somatic embryogenesis in these conditions. Our studies showed that during some developmental stages, these embryos were covered irregularly and discontinuously by cells with a typical protodermal phenotype characterized by a cuticle on the outer cell wall. We observed that cells with cuticles were peeled off from the surface of mature embryos. Before peeling off, these cells underwent programmed cell death, which was confirmed by the TdT-mediated dUTP nick end labeling method. Transmission electron microscopy revealed advanced processes of autophagy in these cells.     

Immunological detection of cell surface galactosyltransferase in preimplantation mouse embryos

Presence of cell surface galactosyltransferase was surveyed in preimplantation mouse embryos by indirect immunofluorescence staining using an affinity-purified antibody against galactosyltransferase from human milk. Distinct fluorescence staining was observed in embryos ranging from late 8-cell stage to early blastocysts, while the embryos at other stages were stained only weakly. The cell surface enzyme was also present in F9 embryonal carcinoma cells, in a fraction of bone marrow cells of the mouse, and in a few percent of testicular sperm.     

The Chinese hamster gene map. Assignment of four genes (DTS, PGM2, 6PGD, EnoI) to chromosome 2

Mouse morulae and blastocysts express cell surface antigens that fortuitously cross-react with antisera to human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). In the present study, the cell surface and cytoplasmic expression of these antigens was followed in mouse unfertilized oocytes, different stages of preimplantation embryos and in early post-implantation embryos cultured from blastocysts. In addition to their known stage-dependent cell surface expression on morulae and blastocysts, these antigens (1) were already present in the cytoplasm of mature unfertilized oocytes and pre-morula stages of embryos; (2) remained expressed as cell surface antigens on cells of the inner cell mass (ICM), but not on the surface of trophectodermal cells with further blastocyst development although (3) they persisted as cytoplasmic antigens in trophectodermal cells. In addition, these antigens were also detectable by antiserum to the alpha subunit of hCG.     

Scanning microscopy of disaggregated and aggregated preimplantation mouse embryos

Summary Blastomeres isolated from 8-and 16-cell embryos (that is 1/8 and 1/16) show a smooth surface at their point of contact with other blastomeres and a microvillous free surface. Microvilli reappear completely on the smooth surface of 52% of 1/8 embryos and partially on 88% of 1/16 embryos if cultured in vitro for 6 h. When 2-to 8-cell embryos are aggregated to 8-cell embryos and forced apart after 1–3 h, the contact surface of the 8-cell embryos has become smooth. Fixed 8-cell embryos are also able to induce complete disappearance of microvilli on the contact surface of a living 8-cell embryo. Embryos having more than 8 cells do not induce complete disappearance of microvilli on the contact surface of 8-cell embryos. Aggregates of late morulae do not show complete disappearance of microvilli at their contact surfaces but rather a loosening of their peripheral blastomeres.Our results show that isolated 1/8 and 1/16 embryos tend to recover from regionalization, that the process of aggregation of embryos having 8 cells or less is similar to compaction and that embryos having more than 8 cells seem to aggregate by cell sorting. The processes of compaction, adhesion and reassortment are briefly discussed. We submit that blastomere regionalization, which depends on cell to cell contact, may be the spatial basis of embryonic regulation and of the inside-outside normal differentiation of early mouse embryos.     

Cell surface proteins of Drosophila. II. A comparison of embryonic and ecdysone-induced proteins

The cell-surface proteins of Drosophila embryos at gastrula and myoblast fusion stages were characterized by radioiodination and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. Over 13% of the cell surface proteins detected in gastrula embryos were not found in myoblast fusion stage embryos or in Drosophila embryonic cell line EH34A3 cells. Nearly 18% of the cell-surface proteins detected in myoblast fusion stage embryos were evident only at that stage. Embryonic cell-surface proteins were compared with cell-surface proteins from untreated EH34A3 cells and EH34A3 cells treated with 20-hydroxyecdysone, which induces cell aggregation and the expression of "new" proteins at the cell surface (D. F. Woods and C. A. Poodry, 1983, Dev. Biol. 96, 23-31). Only one of the proteins induced by ecdysone in EH34A3 cells was detected in the NP-40 soluble fraction of radioiodinated cell lysates, even after fractionation by lectin affinity chromatography and immunoprecipitation to enrich for putative ecdysone induced proteins. However, extraction of the NP-40 insoluble pellet of embryo cells revealed one additional protein that was present both in myoblast fusion stage embryos and hormone-treated culture cells. It was concluded that except for these two proteins, the cell-surface proteins induced in cultured cell lines by treatment with 20-hydroxyecdysone are not present in significant amounts in gastrula or myoblast fusion stage embryos.     

Histodifferentiation of somatic embryos in cotyledons of pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana Berg)

Summary Somatic embryos of pineapple guava (Feijoa sellowiana Berg, Myrtaceae) were induced particularly well from the adaxial face of the cotyledons of zygotic embryos cultured on MS medium containing 1.0 mg/l 2,4-D and 0.3 M sucrose. Somatic embryos were never obtained from globular and heart-shaped zygotic embryos and embryos at the torpedo stage produced somatic embryos at lower frequencies than mature zygotic embryos. At the time of explantation, cotyledonary cells were rich in storage proteins and lipids but no starch was found. After the first 5 days of culture most of the reserves had been mobilized in cotyledons of germinating embryos, but were still present in large amounts in cotyledons undergoing embryogenie induction. In contrast to cotyledons following the normal pattern of development, cells of embryogenically-induced cotyledons accumulated starch, especially those cells not involved in the embryogenie process. Two patterns of somatic embryo differentiation were observed: (1) from single epidermal cells or (2) from groups of meristematic cells near the adaxial surface. Comparative observations on cotyledons from germinating embryos and those undergoing embryogenesis suggest that the meristematic layer arises as the result of successive divisions of cells that, under normal conditions, would form the palisade parenchyma. These were the only mesophyll cells that showed mitotic divisions during the normal development.Abbreviations 2,4-D 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid - FAA formalin/acetic acid/ethyl alcohol - PAS periodic acid-Schiff     

Role of cell contact in the specification process of pigment founder cells in the sea urchin embryo

Effects of LiCl on the specification process of pigment founder cells were examined in the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus. If embryos were treated with 30 mM LiCl during 4-7 or 7-10 hours postfertilization, pigment cells increased significantly. Aphidicolin treatment indicated that this increase was due to the increase in the pigment founder cells. Interestingly, if the embryos were treated sequentially with LiCl and Ca2+-free seawater during 4-7 and 7-10 hr, respectively, they differentiated only about the same number of pigment cells as control embryos. Further, the increase was scarcely discerned when the embryos were treated with LiCl in the absence of Ca2+ during 7-10 hr. These results suggested that effect of LiCl would be ascribed to the increase in cell adhesiveness. In fact, LiCl-treated embryos were more difficult to be dissociated into single cells. Cell electrophoresis showed that the amount of the negative cell surface charges decreased considerably in LiCl-treated embryos. It was also found that the number of pigment cells seldom exceeded 100, even if embryos were exposed to a higher concentration of LiCl. This suggested that only a subpopulation of the descendants of veg2 blastomeres received the inductive signal emanated from the micromere progeny.     

福禄考的组织培养研究：Ⅲ 体细胞胚胎发生的细胞学观察

福禄考叶片直接和间接地由单细胞形成体细胞胚。直接形成的体细胞胚来自叶表皮细胞、紧邻表皮的第一层栅栏细胞及维管束鞘内部和外部的薄壁细胞。间接形成的体细胞胚来自愈伤组织的表层或较深层细胞。体细胞胚有典型胚柄、多细胞胚柄和无胚柄3种,均经类似于合子胚的发育过程形成无根小植株。     

An electron microscopic analysis of notochordal and mesenchymal cell abnormalities in embryos of Danforth’s short-tail (Sd) mice

Abnormalities of notochordal cells and of mesenchymal cells in embryos of Danforth's short-tail (Sd) and C57BL mice were examined by means of electron microscopy and cytochemical staining at 11.0 and 11.5 days of gestation. In abnormal (Sd/+; Sd/Sd) embryos, the notochordal cells were markedly deficient in bundles of filaments and lacked surface protrusions, and the notochordal basal lamina was continuous; in contrast, notochordal cells of normal (+/+) littermates and of C57BL embryos contained numerous bundles of filaments and showed fingerlike surface protrusions and discontinuous basal laminae. The pathologic notochordal cells also lacked the accumulations of glycogen revealed in the normals by means of thiocarbohydrazide cytochemical staining at the electron microscopic level. The mesenchymal cells of abnormals also were deficient in filaments but did stain for glycogen, though less prominently than did normal mesenchymal cells.     

Ultrastructural study of concanavalin-A binding to the surface of preimplantation mouse embryos

Receptors for Con-A were labelled (using the peroxidase-diaminobenzidine technique) on the plasma membrane of unfertilized and fertilized mouse eggs, cleavage stage embryos, trophoblast and inner cell mass (ICM) of the blastocyst. Embryos were exposed to Con-A concentrations of 10 microgram/ml, 50 microgram/ml, or 1,000 microgram/ml and the lowest concentration was observed to be the most suitable for discerning differences between stages of embryonic development. On the surface of unfertilized and fertilized eggs and 2-cell embryos, reaction product appeared as a thin, discontinuous layer. The surface of 4- and 16-cell stage embryos had a thicker, continuous, although non-uniform, layer of the reaction product. On the surface of the cells of the late morula, and on the trophoblastic cells of the blastocyst, clustering of reaction product was observed. Cells of ICM of intact blastocyst were free of the reaction product, showing that either Con-A and/or peroxidase cannot penetrate tight junctions between trophoblastic cells. Reaction product in the form of a thin, uniform layer covered the free surface of the cells of the ICM after they had been isolated (using immunosurgery) and exposed to 50 microgram/ml of Con-A. The amount and distribution of Con-A receptors is discussed, along with their redistribution and mobility in relation to the agglutinability of preimplantation mouse embryos.     

Inhibitory effect of Concanavalin A on the cell-to-cell adhesion during early development of the starfish, Asterina pectinifera

The inhibitory effect of Concanavalin A (ConA) on the cell-to-cell adhesion was studied in starfish embryos. ConA reversibly blocked the formation of intercellular adhesion in embryos denuded of fertilization membrane as well as in normal embryos, without affecting cell division and thereby inhibiting the morphogenetic movement of blastulation. A large dose of ConA dissociated both denuded and normal embryos to single cells at blastula and gastrula stage. Succinyl ConA (Suc-ConA) has the same effect on cell-to-cell adhesion, though critical concentration was slightly higher than that of ConA. These effects of ConA or Suc-ConA were prevented by α-methyl- -mannoside (αMM). Study of the binding of fluorescein-conjugated ConA to the cell surface showed that ConA receptors were present in the surface of fertilized egg and cells at all stages examined. These findings suggest that ConA receptors play an important role in cell-to-cell adhesion during the early morphogenesis of starfish.     

Micromorphological studies of adventitious bud formation on Picea abies embryos treated with cytokinin

Embryos of Picea abies (L.) Karst were pulse-treated with water or cytokinin for 2 h and then cultured on medium lacking cytokinin. Adventitious buds developed on cytokinin-treated embryos, but not on water-treated embryos. The general appearance and the surface morphology were similar on water and BA (benzyladenine)-treated embryos after 3 days. The epidermal cells were elongating after 6 days on water-treated embryos, while they were dividing on cytokinin-treated embryos. Furthermore, the cells surrounding the stomata had started to proliferate on BA-treated embryos. This was the first micromorphological sign of bud initiation. During the second week prominent meristemoids developed from these cells. A stoma was observed on the top of each meristemoid. The variation in developmental pattern of meristemoids among different embryos as well as within each embryo was small. However, during the subsequent development of bud primordia and buds, the morphological variation was significant. The meristemoids continued to develop into cone-shaped bud primordia, which successively changed shape during the transition to adventitious buds. The epidermal cells divided and the epidermis did not rupture during the formation of adventitious bud primordia. The epidermis was identified as the protoderm of the bud primordium.     

Cellular polarity in cultured animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos

The expression of intracellular and surface polarity in cultured animal pole cells of Xenopus embryos (stages 6, 8, and 10) was examined morphologically and immunocytochemically. When control embryos reached stage 23, daughter cells derived from a single or a few animal pole cells formed aggregates. Outer cells of the aggregates displayed intracellular and surface polarity and expressed an epidermis-specific antigen (XEPI-1) on the apical surface circumference, while these characteristics had not yet been established in the animal pole cells at the time of isolation. However, inner cells of the aggregates did not display the cellular polarity along an outer-inner axis of the aggregates and displayed the antigen randomly within the aggregates. These results indicate that the expression of cellular polarity in epidermal differentiation of Xenopus embryos in vitro depends on the position within the aggregates formed by daughter cells derived from isolated animal pole cells.     

Acquisition of desiccation tolerance in developing wheat embryos correlates with appearance of a fluid phase in membranes

Membrane behaviour in developing wheat (Triticum aestivum cv Priokskaya) embryos was studied in relation to the acquisition of desiccation tolerance, using spin probe techniques. Fresh embryos were able to develop into seedlings at day 15 after anthesis, but it took 18 d before fast‐dried, isolated embryos could germinate. On the basis of membrane integrity measurements it was estimated that between 14 and 18 d after anthesis the proportion of embryonic cells surviving fast drying increased and the critical moisture content, to which embryonic cells could be dehydrated, decreased. Apparently, embryonic cells do not acquire the same level of desiccation tolerance simultaneously. Only when all cells had become desiccation tolerant was germination of air‐dried embryos possible. Using 5‐doxylstearic acid as the probe molecule, an approximately similar lipid–water interface ordering of membranes was observed in all hydrated embryos, irrespective of age. Dehydration had a dual effect on the lipid interface: further ordering of the major part of the interface and the appearance of additional, disturbed regions. The proportion of these regions correlated with the proportion of desiccation‐tolerant cells. We propose that the membrane surface disturbance be caused by endogenous amphiphiles that partition from the cytoplasm into membranes during drying. The absence of such disturbed regions in dried, desiccation‐sensitive embryos might reflect a lack of sufficient amphiphiles. The relevance of membrane surface disturbance for desiccation tolerance is discussed.     

Expression of murine early embryonic antigens, SSEA-1 and antigenic determinant of EMA-1, in embryos and ovarian follicles of a teleost medaka (Oryzias latipes)

Stage-specific embryonic antigen-1 (SSEA-1) and the antigenic determinant of monoclonal antibody EMA-1 are expressed in a stage-specific manner in mouse early embryos. To study whether these antigens generally exist in fish, expression of the antigens was examined in embryos, ovarian follicles, and adult tissues of a teleost medaka (Oryzias latipes), using immunohistochemical techniques. In 1-cell-stage embryos, these carbohydrate antigens were found in numerous cytoplasmic granules in the blastodisc and the cortical cytoplasm. These granules gradually decreased in number as the embryos developed. In 4-cell-stage embryos, the antigens appeared on the cleavage planes and were located on the cleavage planes within the blastoderm in the following cleavage stages. In blastula-stage embryos, the expression was ubiquitously found on the cell surface of blastomeres. At the mid-gastrula stage, the antigens were restricted to the enveloping layer, yolk syncytial layer, and cortical cytoplasm, but were rarely found in deep cells that contribute to formation of the embryonic body. In later-stage embryos and adult fish, the antigens were located in various tissues. In ovarian follicles, the antigens were found in granules of oocytes and granulosa cells. These observations were basically consistent with those in mice; however, expression in 1-cell-stage embryos and ovarian follicles has not been observed in mice. This unexpected finding suggests that the antigens are produced in granulosa cells and transferred to 1-cell-stage embryos via oocytes, and that the antigens involved in the early developmental process are maternally prepared in teleosts.     

Cell surface proteins in the early embryogenesis of Pleurodeles waltlii

Surface proteins in the first embryonic stages (8–32 cells, morula, blastula, early and late gastrula) of Pleurodeles waltlii were selectively labelled by ¹²⁵I using lactoperoxidase and glucose/glucose oxidase. Iodination was effected either on non-dissociated embryos or after their dissociation with EDTA. On the outer surface of non-dissociated embryos the two-dimensional electrophoresis revealed only three groups of ¹²⁵I-labelled proteins which did not change during all studied stages. Quite different results were obtained with the cells of dissociated embryos. In addition to the iodinated proteins of the embryonic outer surface seven major iodinated proteins were identified. These proteins originate from the regions of cell-cell contacts in intact embryo. Their two-dimensional pattern in dissociated cells changes between stages 8–32 cells and morula. The next important difference was observed during gastrulation, which corresponds in Pleurodeles waltlii to the first morphogenetic movements. Therefore the outside and inside cell surfaces of embryo are different already at stage 8–32 cells (and probably earlier), before the first step of morphogenesis. The changes of cell surface proteins at early embryonal development take place inside the embryo, in the regions of cell-cell interactions.     

Expression of mutant genes in mouse aggregation chimeras. 4. The aphakia gene

Analysis of aphakia (ak) gene expression in ak/ak C/C in equilibrium +/+ c/c experimental chimaeras has shown that the ak gene acts in the lens rudiment cells blocking it differentiation. In the lens of 12 day old ak/ak C/C in equilibrium +/+ c/c chimaeric embryos undifferentiated ak/ak cells were present among the normally differentiating fibres. In 14 and 18 day old chimaeric embryos and 20 day old chimaeric mice ak/ak cells are located under the lens epithelium and the capsule of posterior lens half. In the locations of ak/ak cells on the posterior lens surface capsule breaks resulted in the extrusion of lens material into the secondary eye cavity. In all studied chimaeric embryos the lens structure is more similar to that in the normal embryos, than in ak/ak embryos. This suggests that in the developing chimaeric lens ak/ak cells are sorted out as the development proceeds. The proliferation rate of +/+ cells appears to be higher than that of ak/ak cells.     

A comparative investigation on the potency of cells from the inner cell mass and trophectoderm of mouse blastocysts to produce chimeras

The ability of trophectoderm (TE) cells to produce chimeric mice (pluripotency) was compared with that of inner cell mass (ICM) cells. TE and ICM cells of blastocysts and hatching or hatched blastocysts derived from albino mice (CD-1, Gpi-1a/a) were aggregated with zona cut 8- to 16-cell stage embryos or injected into the blastocoele from non-albino mice (C57BL/6 x C3H/He, Gpi-1b/b). After transfer to pseudopregnant female mice, the contribution of the donor cells was examined by glucose phosphate isomerase (GPI) analysis of embryos, membrane and placenta at mid-gestation (Day 10.5 and 12.5) or by the coat color of newborn mice. In contrast to ICM cells, there was no contribution of TE cells in the conceptuses and no coat color chimeric young were obtained. After pre-labeling of TE cells with fluorescent latex microparticles, they were aggregated with embryos and the allocation of TE cells at the compacted morula and blastocyst stages was observed under a fluorescent microscope. Although the TE cells were observed attached onto the surface of the embryos at morula and blastocyst stages, unlike the ICM cells, they were not positively incorporated into the embryos. Thus, the pluripotency of TE cells from mouse blastocysts was not induced by the aggregation and injection methods.