爪蟾脊索细胞的决定

在两栖类,关于脊索对邻近组织的作用有大量的研究工作,但是,相反,关于邻近组织对脊索的影响过去几乎没有任何报道。因此,本工作企图通过外植的方法,,研究脊索在早期发育中是如何决定的,是否也受邻近细胞的影响,结果发现,脊索的决定是一个渐进的过程,并提供了研究邻近组织影响的线索。     

邻近组织对爪蟾脊索决定和分化的影响

影响爪蟾脊索决定和分化的因素,过去未见报道。本文采用体外共同培养的方法检测了肌节和神经上皮在脊索决定和分化中的作用。结果指出,脊索与两侧肌节共同培养,肌节的量为脊索的决定和分化提供了足够的条件,一侧肌节的量满足不了使所有脊索进行决定和分化的条件,在少数例子里甚至分化不出脊索。在神经上皮的包裹中,部份脊索细胞向肌细胞分化,单独与脊索接触也不利于脊索的正常分化。讨论了中轴器官之间在决定和分化中错综复杂的关系。     

邻近组织对爪蟾脊索决定和分化的影响

影响爪蟾脊索决定和分化的因素，过去未见报道。本文采用体外共同培养的方法检测了肌节和神经上皮在脊索决定和分化中的作用。结果指出，脊索与两侧肌节共同培养，肌节的量为脊索的决定和分化提供了足够的条件；一侧肌节的量满足不了使所有脊索进行决定和分化的条件，在少数例子甚至分化不出脊索。在神经上皮的包囊中，部分脊索细胞向肌细胞分化，单独与脊索接触也不利于脊索的正常分化。讨论了中轴器官之间的决定和分化中错综复杂的     

爪蟾胚胎原肠中期背方中胚层的组织分化

原肠中期内卷的背方中胚层出现了分别控制脊索和肌肉发育的专一分子的区域化表达。为了研究这个时期的背方中胚层是否已经能够在脱离体内信号的情况下向预定命运分化,我们进行了预定脊索和预定肌肉组织的体外培养,以及两者的共培养,并检测了细胞表达组织专一性分子的情况。原肠中期的预定脊索区域和预定体节区域都能在体外分化成相应的组织——空泡化的脊索和肌细胞,但脊索只能微弱表达其功能分子Shh,肌细胞不能形成肌节。预定脊索区域和预定肌肉区域的共培养也无法增强脊索表达Shh和促进肌细胞形成肌节。我们的结论是,原肠中期内卷的中胚层细胞已经具有了朝预定命运独立分化的能力,但进一步形成功能和结构都完整的相应组织可能还需要周围组织的作用。     

CXCR4在脊索瘤组织中的表达及其临床意义

目的:探讨脊索瘤组织中CXCR4的表达情况,并分析其在脊索瘤侵袭和复发中的作用及临床意义.方法:应用免疫组织化学方法检测42例脊索瘤及16例骨样骨瘤患者标本中CXCR4的表达,并分析其与侵袭复发的关系.结果:脊索瘤组织中CXCR4的阳性表达率为80％(34/42),而在骨样骨瘤中的表达率为12.5％(2/16),两者比较有显著差异(P＜0.01),在正常脊索组织中无表达.CXCR4的表达与脊索瘤患者的性别、年龄无关(P＞0.05);而与脊索瘤有无复发有关(P＜0.05).结论:CXCR4可能在脊索瘤细胞侵袭、复发的过程中起重要作用,为进一步的研究奠定基础.     

爪蟾脊索在决定过程中和相邻细胞的关系

已经知道,对预定脊索的决定起重要作用的是位于它两侧的预定肌节。电子显微镜的观察指出,预定脊索和肌节细胞相互靠得很近,或者相隔一定距离,以突起相连形成腔隙。有被小窝和小泡在两类细胞的外缘常被观察到。最引人注意的是在肌节细胞近腔隙的部位或者附近,球状体的出现。它们大小不等,内含物主要是颗粒,有的松散分布,有的致密地充满整个球状体。这些颗粒的大小和电子染色与这时期胚胎细胞中的核糖体很相似。在预定脊索细胞中以及附近,未见上述结构,但是,观察到它们伸出突起包吞腔隙中物质的现象。讨论了这些球状体的出现与脊索决定之间可能存在的关系。     

浅谈诱导作用的机理

1.初级器官原基的形成和诱导作用动物胚胎发生过程中原肠作用完成后,未来器官物质都从囊胚表面达到原肠胚相应的部位,由于细胞之间的相互作用而发生进一步的分化和发育.一部分细胞对其邻近细胞的形态发生产生影响的作用叫诱导作用.产生影响的细胞叫诱导者,被诱导的细胞叫反应细胞.实验胚胎学证明,脊索和索前板是发育的诱导中心.     

爪蟾脊索在决定过程中和相邻细胞的关系

已经知道，对预定脊索的决定起重要作用的是位于它两侧的预定肌节。电子显微镜的观察指出，预定脊索和肌节细胞相互靠得很近，或者相隔一定距离，以突起相连形成腔隙。有被小窝和小泡在两类细胞的外缘常被观察到。最引人注意的是在肌节细胞近腔隙的部位或者附近，球状体的出现。它们大小不等，内含物主要是颗粒，有的松散分布，有的致密地充满整个球状体。这些颗粒的大小和电子染色与这时期胚胎细胞中的核糖体很相似。在预定脊索细胞     

半滑舌鳎胚胎发育组织学观察

对半滑舌鳎Cynoglossus semilaevis胚胎发育进行了组织学观察,首次描述了半滑舌鳎胚胎发育过程中脊索、眼囊、中胚层、脊髓底板、神经管、肠、耳囊、脑、口咽膜和心管等组织结构.半滑舌鳎眼原基出现后,肌节在胚体后部开始分化.随后神经管前端不断膨大形成脑原基,脑形成之后在后脑的后面形成耳囊.胚体形成后,脊索位于脑的腹面,在胚胎发育过程中脊索细胞空泡化.肠位于脊索腹面.脊索背部有一排立方体细胞,为脊髓底板,脊髓底板位于神经管腹面并延伸到后脑前端.心脏是含有红血球的一个薄壁管,位于胚体头部腹面,且与中脑平行.     

胚胎发育中各胚层的相互作用

胚胎发育是一个极其复杂的过程,从简单的卵子开始,经过卵裂,囊胚,原肠胚和神经胚各个时期,最后形成一个具有各种组织结构的胚胎。这中间包括了各种各样的变化过程。关于这些过程,有的根据实验研究的结果已经获得了一些知识,另外一些却都还是悬而未决的问题。不过,可以肯定的是:在胚胎发育的过程中,任何一部分都不是孤立存在的,而是和它邻近的各部分有着密切的连系,相互影响,相互作用。这种胚胎各部分之间的相互作用就是决定胚胎发育的主要因素。     

VACUOLATION OF EXPLANTED AND IMPLANTED NOTOCHORDS OF AMPHIBIA

Processes of vacuolation were investigated with the explanted and implanted rudiments of amphibian notochord. Explanted notochords generally underwent vacuolation when they were surrounded by other differentiating tissues. In the absence of these tissues, they were not only unable to vacuolate but also unable to survive. When the notochords were implanted into the ventral mass of yolk granules of neurula, they showed no vacuolation and died within a few days if they were alone and not surrounded by other differentiating tissues. These facts suggest that the presence of other differentiating tissues surrounding the notochord is a requisite for the notochord to vacuolate. Further, the fact that in explanted notochords, vacuolation was frequently interrupted and was left unfinished when the surrounding tissues were scarce, suggests that the quantity of the surrounding tissues is important in promoting vacuolation. Interruption of the vacuolation occurs in the explanted notochord at any stage from the beginning to the end of the process. Therefore, almost all the stages of vacuolation were observed in these notochords. Very frequently, different parts of a single notochord presented different stages of vacuolation. All these stages were essentially the same as those found in the normal notochord. From these results, it emerges that although vacuolation of the explanted and implanted notochords is carried out with the same process as in the normal intact one, it is accomplished only when they are surrounded by a sufficient quantity of other differentiating tissues.     

Tissue specific differentiation of dorsal mesoderm in Xenopus mid-gastrula embryos]

Genes involved in differentiation of notochord or muscle are expressed in specific regions of the involuted dorsal mesoderm in mid-gastrula Xenopus embryo. The presumptive notochord or the presomitic mesoderm have been cultured either in isolation or recombination to investigate whether these tissues have been determined. Cell differentiation was checked by specific markers of notochord (Shh) or muscle cell (desmin, myosin). The results show that the presumptive notochord can differentiate into vacuolated notochord with a weak expression of Shh, while the presomitic mesoderm differentiate into muscle cells with a normal expression of desmin and myosin in vitro. The same result was obtained when the two tissues have been cocultured. These data suggest that the cell fate of the involuted dorsal mesoderm in mid-gastrula has been determined, cells can differentiate according to their fates without further signals from the adjacent tissues, but no functional structures can be formed by these tissues in vitro.     

Wnt5 is required for notochord cell intercalation in the ascidian Halocynthia roretzi

Background information. In the embryos of various animals, the body elongates after gastrulation by morphogenetic movements involving convergent extension. The Wnt/PCP (planar cell polarity) pathway plays roles in this process, particularly mediolateral polarization and intercalation of the embryonic cells. In ascidians, several factors in this pathway, including Wnt5, have been identified and found to be involved in the intercalation process of notochord cells. Results. In the present study, the role of the Wnt5 genes, Hr‐Wnt5α (Halocynthia roretzi Wnt5α) and Hr‐Wnt5β, in convergent extension was investigated in the ascidian H. roretzi by injecting antisense oligonucleotides and mRNAs into single precursor blastomeres of various tissues, including notochord, at the 64‐cell stage. Hr‐Wnt5α is expressed in developing notochord and was essential for notochord morphogenesis. Precise quantitative control of its expression level was crucial for proper cell intercalation. Overexpression of Wnt5 proteins in notochord and other tissues that surround the notochord indicated that Wnt5α plays a role within the notochord, and is unlikely to be the source of polarizing cues arising outside the notochord. Detailed mosaic analysis of the behaviour of individual notochord cells overexpressing Wnt5α indicated that a Wnt5α‐manipulated cell does not affect the behaviour of neighbouring notochord cells, suggesting that Wnt5α works in a cell‐autonomous manner. This is further supported by comparison of the results of Wnt5α and Dsh (Dishevelled) knockdown experiments. In addition, our results suggest that the Wnt/PCP pathway is also involved in mediolateral intercalation of cells of the ventral row of the nerve cord (floor plate) and the endodermal strand. Conclusion. The present study highlights the role of the Wnt5α signal in notochord convergent extension movements in ascidian embryos. Our results raise the novel possibility that Wnt5α functions in a cell‐autonomous manner in activation of the Wnt/PCP pathway to polarize the protrusive activity that drives convergent extension.     

Morphogenetic pattern formation during ascidian notochord formation is regulative and highly robust.

The ascidian notochord forms through simultaneous invagination and convergent extension of a monolayer epithelial plate. Here we combine micromanipulation with time lapse and confocal microscopy to examine how notochord-intrinsic morphogenetic behaviors and interactions with surrounding tissues, determine these global patterns of movement. We show that notochord rudiments isolated at the 64-cell stage divide and become motile with normal timing; but, in the absence of interactions with non-notochordal tissues, they neither invaginate nor converge and extend. We find that notochord formation is robust in the sense that no particular neighboring tissue is required for notochord formation. Basal contact with either neural plate or anterior endoderm/lateral mesenchyme or posterior mesoderm are each alone sufficient to ensure that the notochord plate forms and extends a cylindrical rod. Surprisingly, the axis of convergent extension depends on the specific tissues that contact the notochord, as do other patterns of cell shape change, movement and tissue deformation that accompany notochord formation. We characterize one case in detail, namely, embryos lacking neural plates, in which a normal notochord forms but by an entirely different trajectory. Our results show ascidian notochord formation to be regulative in a fashion and to a degree never before appreciated. They suggest this regulative behavior depends on a complex interplay between morphogenetic tendencies intrinsic to the notochord plate and instructive and permissive interactions with surrounding tissues. We discuss mechanisms that could account for these data and what they imply about notochord morphogenesis and its evolution within the chordate phylum.     

XBtg2 is required for notochord differentiation during early Xenopus development

The notochord is essential for normal vertebrate development, serving as both a structural support for the embryo and a signaling source for the patterning of adjacent tissues. Previous studies on the notochord have mostly focused on its formation and function in early organogenesis but gene regulation in the differentiation of notochord cells itself remains poorly defined. In the course of screening for genes expressed in developing notochord, we have isolated Xenopus homolog of Btg2 (XBtg2). The mammalian Btg2 genes, Btg2/PC3/TIS21, have been reported to have multiple functions in the regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation but their roles in early development are still unclear. Here we characterized XBtg2 in early Xenopus laevis embryogenesis with focus on notochord development. Translational inhibition of XBtg2 resulted in a shortened and bent axis phenotype and the abnormal structures in the notochord tissue, which did not undergo vacuolation. The XBtg2-depleted notochord cells expressed early notochord markers such as chordin and Xnot at the early tailbud stage, but failed to express differentiation markers of notochord such as Tor70 and 5-D-4 antigens in the later stages. These results suggest that XBtg2 is required for the differentiation of notochord cells such as the process of vacuolar formation after determination of notochord cell fate.     

Ephrin-Eph signalling drives the asymmetric division of notochord/neural precursors in Ciona embryos

Asymmetric cell divisions produce two sibling cells with distinct fates, providing an important means of generating cell diversity in developing embryos. Many examples of such cell divisions have been described, but so far only a limited number of the underlying mechanisms have been elucidated. Here, we have uncovered a novel mechanism controlling an asymmetric cell division in the ascidian embryo. This division produces one notochord and one neural precursor. Differential activation of extracellular-signal-regulated kinase (ERK) between the sibling cells determines their distinct fates, with ERK activation promoting notochord fate. We first demonstrate that the segregation of notochord and neural fates is an autonomous property of the mother cell and that the mother cell acquires this functional polarity via interactions with neighbouring ectoderm precursors. We show that these cellular interactions are mediated by the ephrin-Eph signalling system, previously implicated in controlling cell movement and adhesion. Disruption of contacts with the signalling cells or inhibition of the ephrin-Eph signal results in the symmetric division of the mother cell, generating two notochord precursors. Finally, we demonstrate that the ephrin-Eph signal acts via attenuation of ERK activation in the neural-fated daughter cell. We propose a model whereby directional ephrin-Eph signals functionally polarise the notochord/neural mother cell, leading to asymmetric modulation of the FGF-Ras-ERK pathway between the daughter cells and, thus, to their differential fate specification.     

Characterization of notochord collagen as a cartilage-type collagen

Sturgeon notochord and cartilage collagens have been characterized with respect to chromatographic properties, amino acid composition, carbohydrate content, and cyanogen bromide cleavage products of the component α chains. The data show that the collagen of both tissues is comprised of a single type of α chain and that the notochord and cartilage chains are identical. Further, the sturgeon chains bear a striking resemblance to previously characterized α1(II) chains from avian and mammalian hyaline cartilages. These observations strongly suggest that the data may be extrapolated to higher organisms and indicate that during development, a cartilage-type collagen is synthesized by notochord cells prior to the appearance of tissues classically identified as cartilage on the basis of morphology.