Differences in the physical properties of lipid monolayers and bilayers on a spherical solid support.

A monolayer of 1,2-dipalmitoyl-d62-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC-d62) coated onto silanized silica beads (spherical supported monolayer: SSM) is studied by 2H-NMR and DSC. The results are compared with those obtained from a single bilayer on the same solid support (spherical supported vesicles: SSV) and from multilamellar vesicles (MLV). The phase transition temperature (Tm) of the SSMs is significantly higher than that of the bilayer systems and the extent of this difference depends on the lipid density in the monolayer that is determined during its preparation. 2H-NMR reveals a gel and fluid phase coexistence in the SSM transition region. A comparison of the 2H-NMR line shapes suggests the presence of highly curved structures for the fluid phase of the SSM samples. From a comparison of SSM and SSV transverse relaxation in the fluid phase we can conclude that the lateral diffusion coefficient D1 in supported monolayers is similar to that in bilayers.     

Regeneration of neural crest derivatives in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">Xenopus</Emphasis>tadpole tail

Background  

After amputation of the Xenopus tadpole tail, a functionally competent new tail is regenerated. It contains spinal cord, notochord and muscle, each of which has previously been shown to derive from the corresponding tissue in the stump. The regeneration of the neural crest derivatives has not previously been examined and is described in this paper.