Membrane-cytoskeletal interactions in the early mouse embryo

Differentiation in the early mouse embryo begins at the 8-cell stage when the blastomeres flatten against each other by active spreading movements and surface and cytoplasmic elements become concentrated in the apical (uncontacted) region of the cells. A ring of cortical myosin marks the demarcation between the contacted and the uncontacted cellular domains. The organization of the cortical contractile apparatus in the blastomeres bears a formal resemblance to that of other cells that are engaged in similar motile activities. It has been proposed that a flow of cortical filaments could provide the motor that powers these movements. The applicability of such a cortical flow model to the early embryo and the implications for cell flattening and cell polarization are discussed in this review.