Chromatin proteins from normal,vegetalized, and animalized sea urchin embryos

The chemical composition of the chromatin, the fractional content of histones and nonhistone chromatin proteins (NHP), and the biosynthesis of these proteins in normal, vegetalized, and animalized embryos of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis at the blastula, mesenchyme blastula, and gastrula stages have been studied. The amount of the NHP in the chromatin from normal and vegetalized embryos increases during early embryonic development while that in animalized embryos remains without change at the mesenchyme blastula stage and then decreases. During development the histone content in all three cases slightly decreases. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reveals that both fractional composition of histones and their biosynthesis in normal, vegetalized, and animalized embryos display no differences. During development, however, some changes occur, so that the relative amount of histones F1 and F2a2 increases, F2b decreases, while F3 and F2a1 remains constant. Histone F1 at the blastula stage consists of two subfractions while at the gastrula stage it consists of three subfractions. The histone F2a1 consists of one and two, respectively. Histone F3 at all stages is made up of three subfractions; histone F2b is made up of two; and the histone F2a2 is electrophoretically homogeneous. Specific radioactivity of the arginine-rich histones F3 and F2a1 tends to increase during development, while that of moderately lysine-rich histones F2b and F2a2 does not change, and that of the lysine-rich histone F1 decreases. The NHP in normal, vegetalized, and animalized embryos at different developmental stages consist of 17 fractions that can be separated by isoelectrofocusing within the 4.5-8.8 pH range. Quantitative changes have been observed in the fractions focused at pH 4.5-6.1 during development and in normal and modified embryos at the gastrula stage.     

3H]serotonin binding to blastula, gastrula, prism, and pluteus sea urchin embryo cells

1. The presence of serotonin binding sites in blastula, gastrula, prism, and pluteus embryos of the sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata, was investigated by the binding of radiolabelled serotonin to dissociated embryo cells. 2. [3H]serotonin binding sites were identified in prism, early pluteus, and advanced pluteus larvae, but not in blastula or gastrula embryos. 3. The ontogeny of [3H]serotonin binding activity closely parallels that of serotonin content as previously reported in Paracentrotus lividus embryos (Toneby, 1977a). 4. Results of this study support a regulatory role of serotonin in developmental processes in postgastrula sea urchin embryos.     

Inhibition of mitogen activated protein kinase signaling affects gastrulation and spiculogenesis in the sea urchin embryo

The mitogen activated protein (MAP) kinase signaling cascade has been implicated in a wide variety of events during early embryonic development. We investigated the profile of MAP kinase activity during early development in the sea urchin, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, and tested if disruption of the MAP kinase signaling cascade has any effect on developmental events. MAP kinase undergoes a rapid, transient activation at the early blastula stage. After returning to basal levels, the activity again peaks at early gastrula stage and remains high through the pluteus stage. Immunostaining of early blastula stage embryos using antibodies revealed that a small subset of cells forming a ring at the vegetal plate exhibited active MAP kinase. In gastrula stage embryos, no specific subset of cells expressed enhanced levels of active enzyme. If the signaling cascade was inhibited at any time between the one cell and early blastula stage, gastrulation was delayed, and a significant percentage of embryos underwent exogastrulation. In embryos treated with MAP kinase signaling inhibitors after the blastula stage, gastrulation was normal but spiculogenesis was affected. The data suggest that MAP kinase signaling plays a role in gastrulation and spiculogenesis in sea urchin embryos.     

Methylation of DNA in developing embryos of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris

Embryos of the sea urchin Psammechinus miliaris have been labelled after fertilization with [6(-3)H]uridine and cultured in filtered sea water. 32-cell, blastula, gastrula and pluteus stages were harvested. The DNA from these embryos was purified and hydrolyzed and the nuclear bases were analyzed by means of high performance liquid chromatography. The ratios of 5-methylcytosine and cytosine demonstrate that the concentrations of 5-methylcytosine are essentially the same in the developmental stages examined (gamma = 95%), which contradicts the hypothesis that methylation of DNA plays a role in cell differentiation.     

Overexpression of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) activates the maternal program of apoptosis shortly after MBT in Xenopus embryos

Overexpression of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC) mRNA in 1- and 2-cell stage Xenopus embryos induces cell autonomous dissociation at the late blastula stage and developmental arrest at the early gastrula stage. The induction of cell dissociation took place "punctually" at the late blastula stage in the SAMDC-overexpressing cells, irrespective of the stage of the microinjection of SAMDC mRNA. When we examined the cells undergoing the dissociation, we found that they were TUNEL-positive and contained fragmented nuclei with condensed chromatin and fragmented DNA. Furthermore, by injecting Xenopus Bcl-2 mRNA together with SAMDC mRNA, we showed that SAMDC-overexpressing embryos are rescued completely by Bcl-2 and becometadpoles. These results indicatethat cell dissociation induced by SAMDC overexpression is due to apoptotic cell death. Since the level of S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) is greatly reduced in SAMDC-overexpressing embryos and this induces inhibition of protein synthesis accompanied by the inhibition of DNA and RNA syntheses, we conclude that deficiency in SAM induced by SAMDC overexpression activates the maternal program of apoptosis in Xenopus embryos at the late blastula stage, but not before. We propose that this mechanism serves as a surveillance mechanism to check and eliminate cells physiologically damaged during the cleavage stage.     

Xenopus laevis POU91 protein, an Oct3/4 homologue, regulates competence transitions from mesoderm to neural cell fates

Cellular competence is defined as a cell's ability to respond to signaling cues as a function of time. In Xenopus laevis, cellular responsiveness to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) changes during development. At blastula stages, FGF induces mesoderm, but at gastrula stages FGF regulates neuroectoderm formation. A Xenopus Oct3/4 homologue gene, XLPOU91, regulates mesoderm to neuroectoderm transitions. Ectopic XLPOU91 expression in Xenopus embryos inhibits FGF induction of Brachyury (Xbra), eliminating mesoderm, whereas neural induction is unaffected. XLPOU91 knockdown induces high levels of Xbra expression, with blastopore closure being delayed to later neurula stages. In morphant ectoderm explants, mesoderm responsiveness to FGF is extended from blastula to gastrula stages. The initial expression of mesoderm and endoderm markers is normal, but neural induction is abolished. Churchill (chch) and Sip1, two genes regulating neural competence, are not expressed in XLPOU91 morphant embryos. Ectopic Sip1 or chch expression rescues the morphant phenotype. Thus, XLPOU91 epistatically lies upstream of chch/Sip1 gene expression, regulating the competence transition that is critical for neural induction. In the absence of XLPOU91 activity, the cues driving proper embryonic cell fates are lost.     

Participation of the GM1 ganglioside in the gastrulation of anuran amphibian Bufo arenarum

In the present paper we established the ganglioside composition of the blastula and gastrula stages of the anuran amphibian Bufo arenarum, two relevant stages characterized by dynamic changes in morphology and cellular rearrangements. Densitometric studies evidenced that GD1a and GT1b were the more abundant gangliosides of the blastula embryos whereas GM1 and GM2 were the predominant species in gastrula embryos. Analysis of ganglioside abundance indicates that the "a" and "b" synthesis pathways perform similar biosynthetic activities in the blastula stage, in contrast to the gastrula stage in which a marked predominance of the "a" pathway occurred. The spatio-temporal expression of GM1 and of polygangliotetraosyl ceramides (pGTC) was investigated by wholemount immunocytochemistry using cholera toxin B subunit (CTB) and an affinity purified human anti-GM1 antibody. The pGTC were detected as GM1 after treatment with neuraminidase. Blastomeres from the inner surface of the blastocoelic roof (BCR) of blastula embryos were GM1 and pGTC positive. At midgastrula stage, embryos showed an increased labeling on the inner surface of BCR. To establish whether the GM1 ganglioside was involved in the gastrulation processes, CTB, anti-GM1 antibodies and anti-GM1 Fab' fragments were microinjected into the blastocoel cavity of blastula embryos. Treatment with the probes blocked gastrulation. Scanning electron microscopy analysis of blocked embryos revealed that mesodermal cell migration, radial interdigitation, and convergent extension movements were affected. The blocking of gastrulation was correlated with the absence of fibronectin and EP3/EP4 on the inner surface of blastocoelic roof of CTB- or anti-GM1 treated embryos. Results show that the GM1 ganglioside is differentially expressed by embryonic cells and participates in the morphogenetic processes of amphibian gastrulation. J. Exp. Zool. 286:457-472, 2000.     

Mitochondrial profile densities and areas in different developmental stages of the sea urchin Sphaerechinus granularis

Mitochondrial profile densities in electronmicrographs were counted in the swimming blastula, mesenchyme blastula, gastrula and prism stages of the sea urchin embryos Sphaerechinus granularis. No numerical changes were statistically apparent. When profile areas were investigated, the mean values of the swimming blastula, the gastrula and the prism stage showed no statistical differences. However, increased areas were measured in the mesenchyme blastula stage. This increase might be related to an increase of the embryonic volumina in the mesenchyme blastula stage. In contrast to earlier reported data, the results indicate that the mitochondrial density in S. granularis embryos does not alter during development in these stages.     

A radioautographic study of protein synthesis in loach blastoderm]

The dynamics of protein synthesis in the loach embryos has been studied by means of autoradiography at the stages of cleavage, blastula and gastrula. During the synchronous cleavage divisions, nuclear proteins are mainly synthesized. From the early blastula stage until the early gastrula stage, the intensity of nuclear protein synthesis increases 2.5 times whereas the intensity of cytoplasmic and total protein synthesis is low and relatively constant. After the onset of gastrulation the intensity of nuclear and cytoplasmic protein synthesis increases 3-4 times and at the late gastrula stage it decreases twice as compared with that at the midgastrula stage. During blastulation, no regional differences in the intensity of nuclear and cytoplasmic protein synthesis were found. With the onset of gastrulation, a vegeto-animal gradient of labeled aminoacid incorporation into nuclear and cytoplasmic proteins appears. During gastrulation, reliable differences were found between the intensity of labeled aminoacid incorporation into proteins of the cells of intact and dissociated blastoderms. During this period, the intensity of protein synthesis in embryonic shield is higher than that in the extraembryonic part of blastoderm.     

Identification and characterization of bone morphogenetic protein 2/4 gene from the starfish Archaster typicus

A bone morphogenetic protein 2/4 (BMP2/4) gene has been cloned from the starfish, Archaster typicus, for the purpose of investigating the expression pattern of the BMP4 gene in echinoderm embryos which do not produce micromeres. The isolated gene (named AtBMP2/4) contained two exons that encoded the entire coding region. The deduced AtBMP2/4 protein sequence contained 509 amino acids. Sequence comparison showed that it shared high amino acid similarity with sea urchin BMP2/4 and Xenopus BMP2 and BMP4. Northern blot analyses indicated that AtBMP2/4 mRNA initially appears at the blastula stage and has a maximal expression level at the gastrula stage. Whole-mount in situ hybridization revealed that AtBMP2/4 mRNA is expressed in the archenteron, coelomic vesicles, and ectodermal cells of gastrula stage embryos. The observed spatial distribution pattern vastly differs from that of sea urchin SpBMP2/4, which is expressed mainly in the oral ectoderm region of the mesenchyme blastula and early gastrula embryos.     

Exogenous tenascin inhibits mesodermal cell migration during amphibian gastrulation.

We have used amphibian gastrulation as a model system to study the action of the extracellular matrix (ECM) glycoprotein tenascin on mesodermal cell migration. Tenascin function was assayed in vitro during spreading of isolated cells from the dorsal marginal zone (DMZ) and during cell migration from DMZ explants. Plastic coated with bovine fibronectin or gastrula ECM was used as a substratum. In both cases, tenascin added to the medium inhibited spreading and migration of mesodermal cells. In addition, a substratum coated with a mixture of fibronectin and tenascin was found to prevent mesodermal cell migration. Tenascin was also microinjected into the blastocoel cavity of living embryos at the late blastula stage. This led to a complete arrest of gastrulation in more than 80% of the cases. Scanning electron microscopy of fractures from arrested gastrulae showed that mesodermal cell migration was blocked. Similar injection experiments carried out at the middle gastrula stage demonstrated that tenascin is able to inhibit cell migration after cells have already contacted the ECM. Mesodermal cell migration in the presence of tenascin could be restored in vitro and in vivo by the monoclonal antibody mAb Tn68 which is known to mask a cell binding site of the molecule. Finally, tenascin microinjected into the blastocoel of blastula or gastrula stage embryos bound within 15 min to the ECM fibrils at all the stages studied. Our results show that exogenous tenascin can be incorporated into embryonic ECM and interferes in vivo with the interactions of cells with a fibronectin-rich matrix.     

Persistence and expression of circular DNAs encoding Drosophila amylase, bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase, and others in Xenopus laevis embryos

We injected circular forms of several different DNAs into fertilized eggs of Xenopus laevis, and studied the persistence and expression of the injected DNAs during early embryonic development. When we injected plasmids which contained Drosophila amylase genes, the copy number of the injected DNA increased only slightly during cleavage, started to decrease at the blastula stage, then became very small at the tadpole stage. In such embryos, Drosophila amylase activity was detected at and after the gastrula stage. When we injected other kinds of circular DNAs (pX1r101A, cDm2055, pII25.1, pBR322, and pSP-64-L14), their copy number did not increase throughout the early stages. When circular plasmids that contained bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) genes were injected, their copy number usually did not increase, but sometimes, for unknown reasons, it increased extensively throughout the blastula to gastrula stages. In both cases, CAT enzyme activity started to be expressed during the blastula to gastrula stages and disappeared at the 2 day-old tadpole stage. The level of CAT enzyme activity was roughly proportional to the amount of CAT mRNA formed, and also to the copy number of injected genes. From these results, we concluded that in Xenopus embryos, exogenously-injected circular DNAs are preserved for the most part as circular DNAs, and that the increase in their copy number within the embryos is not prerequisite for the expression of their genetic information.     

Stage-specific inhibition of Xenopus embryogenesis by aprotinin, a serine protease inhibitor.

We examined the effects of various protease inhibitors on Xenopus laevis embryogenesis. Aprotinin, a serine protease inhibitor, was found to inhibit embryogenesis markedly, but other protease inhibitors had virtually no effect. The inhibitory effect of aprotinin was specific for embryos at the blastula or gastrula stage. These results suggest that an aprotinin-sensitive protease involved in embryonic development is secreted from the embryos or appears on the surface of embryonic cells at these stages. We found that various serine proteases are in fact secreted from the embryos with their development and that some of them are sensitive to aprotinin.     

Maternal program of apoptosis activated shortly after midblastula transition by overexpression of S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase in Xenopus early embryos

When we studied polyamine metabolism in Xenopus embryos, we cloned the cDNA for Xenopus S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase (SAMDC), which converts SAM (S-adenosylmethionine), the methyl donor, into decarboxylated SAM (dcSAM), the aminopropyl donor, and microinjected its in vitro transcribed mRNA into Xenopus fertilized eggs. We found here that the mRNA injection induces a SAM deficient state in early embryos due to over-function of the overexpressed SAMDC, which in turn induces inhibition of protein synthesis. Such embryos developed quite normally until blastula stage, but stopped development at the early gastrula stage, due to induction of massive cell dissociation and cell autolysis, irrespective of the dosage and stage of the mRNA injection. We found that the dissociated cells were TUNEL-positive, contained fragmented nuclei with ladder-forming DNA, and furthermore, rescued completely by coinjection of Bcl-2 mRNA. Thus, overexpression of SAMDC in Xenopus embryos appeared to switch on apoptotic program, probably via inhibition of protein synthesis. Here, we briefly review our results together with those reported from other laboratories. After discussing the general importance of this newly discovered apoptotic program, we propose that the maternal program of apoptosis serves as a surveillance mechanism to eliminate metabolically severely-damaged cells and functions as a 'fail-safe' mechanism for normal development in Xenopus embryos.     

Change in the Activity of Na1, K+-ATPase in Embryos of the Sea Urchin, Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus, during Early Development

The activity of ouabain-sensitive Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase in sea urchin embryos at the morula and the swimming blastula stage was practically the same to that in unfertilized eggs. The activity increased during the period between the mesenchyme blastula and the late gastrula stages. In embryo-wall cell fraction, which contained presumptive ectodermal cells as well as those of other cell lineages at the pre-gastrula stage and ectodermal cells at the late gastrula stage, the Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase activity increased in this developmental period more largely than in another cell fraction, containing mesenchyme cells and archenteron cells. Cycloheximide did not only block the activity increase in this period but also caused evident decrease in the activity in embryos at all examined stages. The activity increase in this period was strongly blocked by the treatment with actinomycin D, starting before the mesenchyme blastula stage, and was not seriously inhibited by the treatment starting at the mesenchyme blastula stage. The treatment starting at the initiation of gastrulation only slightly blocked further increase in the activity. Probably, an accumulation of mRNA encoding Na⁺, K⁺-ATPase occurs mainly in ectodermal cells and is completed up to the early gastrula stage.