海绵动物原始神经物质的探究

本文以安徽芜湖淡水针海绵(Spongilla lacustrisLinnaeus)以及青岛海边海水海绵(Halichondria pan-icea)为研究对象,运用常规组织学、免疫组织化学、蛋白质免疫印迹等多种实验技术和方法,对海绵动物组织内的神经肽类(Neuropeptide Y,NPY;β-endorphin,β-EP)、神经纤维骨架类(S-100;Nervous specific enolase,NSE)、以及神经递质类(5-hydro-xytryptamine,5-HT)物质进行了研究。结果证实海绵动物体内存在神经类物质;对其分布进行了初步的定位;同时证实在海绵动物中存在原始的神经细胞。根据以上实验结果,推断海绵动物是介于原生动物和腔肠动物之间的过渡动物,在进化上占有不可取代的地位。

Exploration on primordial nervous substances in sponges

Whether there are neuro-related substances in sponges and what is the evolutionary position of sponge are always controversials issues. A neuron-like cells in the mesoglea called collencytes have some extension which connects outer and inner strata. Judging from their organizational structure, signal communication should be its main function. Some scientists believe that collencytes may have regulative functions as nerve cells, although no definitive data reveals that they are the primal nerve cells. To demonstrate that sponge collencytes are primal nerve cells,we chose Spongilla as the research object. The research was carried out on various aspects, including morphology and biochemistry, to validate and further verify the unique evolutionary position of sponge. Immunocytochemistry method was used to testify the existence of nervous-like substances and to understand their distribution in sponge. Western-blotting was used to validate the results. Immunocytochemistry and western-blotting methods were used to demonstrate that collencytes are primal nerve cells. The results indicated the existence of nervous-like substances such as NPY, beta-endorphin, NSE, S-100 and 5-HT in sponge. Existence of primal nerve cells in the sponge had been determined. According to the configuration and structure of collencytes and its distribution and outer-inner cellular contact function in sponge, we believe that collencyte is the primal nerve cell. Based on these results, we conclude that the sponge is a transitional between Protozoa and Coelenterate.