Reassessing embryogenesis in the Ctenophora: the inductive role of e1 micromeres in organizing ctene row formation in the ‘mosaic’ embryo, Mnemiopsis leidyi

Development ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 124 (10) ◽  
pp. 1999-2006
Author(s):  
M.Q. Martindale ◽  
J.Q. Henry

Ctenophores are a phylum of diploblastic marine animals displaying biradial symmetry organized along an oral-aboral axis. One of the apomorphic sets of adult structures in ctenophores are the eight external comb rows, which run along the oral-aboral axis. Comb rows consist of serial arrays of individual comb plates of cilia, which beat in a coordinated fashion for locomotory behavior. Classical cell lineage experiments using chalk particles indicated that comb rows are derived exclusively from the four e1 micromeres at the 16-cell stage. This conclusion was also supported by the fact that no ctene rows (or their underlying endodermal canals) form when all four e1 micromeres were deleted. We have used intracellular diI cell lineage tracing to determine that, in addition to e1 micromeres, the four m1 micromeres also make significant contributions to the ctene rows. Thus, e1 micromere derivatives not only generate comb plates but are required for ctene row formation by m1 derivatives. These results demonstrate that inductive interactions are an important component of early development in ctenophores and indicate that e1 micromeres influence the development of adjacent cell lineages (both m1 and endodermal lineages) during ctenophore embryogenesis. In addition, intracellular labeling has revealed that there are subtle variations in the composition of clones derived from identified embryonic blastomeres. Together these findings reveal a picture of ctenophore embryogenesis, which is in marked contrast to the former rigid ‘mosaic’ reputation of ctenophore development, and invite speculation as to the role of the cleavage program in embryonic patterning in the lower Metazoa.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Simonini ◽  
Marian Bemer ◽  
Stefano Bencivenga ◽  
Valeria Gagliardini ◽  
Nuno D. Pires ◽  
...  

Establishing the body plan of a multicellular organism relies on precisely orchestrated cell divisions coupled with pattern formation. In animals, cell proliferation and embryonic patterning are regulated by Polycomb group (PcG) proteins that form various multisubunit complexes (Grossniklaus and Paro, 2014). The evolutionary conserved Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) trimethylates histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3) and comes in different flavors in the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana (Förderer et al., 2016; Grossniklaus and Paro, 2014). The histone methyltransferase MEDEA (MEA) is part of the FERTILIZATION INDEPENDENT SEED (FIS)-PRC2 required for seed development4. Although embryos derived from mea mutant egg cells show morphological abnormalities (Grossniklaus et al., 1998), defects in the development of the placenta-like endosperm are considered the main cause of seed abortion (Kinoshita et al., 1999; Scott et al., 1998), and a role of FIS-PRC2 in embryonic patterning was dismissed (Bouyer et al., 2011; Leroy et al., 2007). Here, we demonstrate that endosperm lacking MEA activity sustains normal embryo development and that embryos derived from mea mutant eggs abort even in presence of a wild-type endosperm because MEA is required for embryonic patterning and cell lineage determination. We show that, similar to PcG proteins in mammals, MEA regulates embryonic growth by repressing the transcription of core cell cycle components. Our work demonstrates that Arabidopsis embryogenesis is under epigenetic control of maternally expressed PcG proteins, revealing that PRC2 was independently recruited to control embryonic cell proliferation and patterning in animals and plants.


2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 132
Author(s):  
L. P. Sepulveda-Rincon ◽  
D. Dube ◽  
P. Adenot ◽  
L. Laffont ◽  
S. Ruffini ◽  
...  

The first lineage specification occurs during pre-implantation mammalian development. At the blastocyst stage, 2 cell lineages can be distinguished: the inner cell mass (ICM) and the trophectoderm (TE). The exact timing when embryo cells are skewed to these lineages is not clearly determined in mammalian species. In murine embryos, it has been suggested that the first cleavage plane might be related to the embryonic-abembryonic (Em-Ab) axis at blastocyst stage. Thus, the daughter cells of the 2-cell embryo might already be predisposed to a specific cell lineage further on development. The objective of the present study was to observe how the first cleavage in bovine embryos may be related to cell lineage allocation at the blastocyst stage, using a noninvasive tracing approach. Bovine oocytes were harvested, in vitro matured, and fertilised. At the 2-cell stage, embryos were injected in one blastomere with the membrane tracer DiI. At the blastocyst stage, embryos (n = 346) were classified as orthogonal when the Em-Ab axis was orthogonally divided by the borderline between labelled and non-labelled cells; as deviant if the borderline was overlapping the Em-Ab axis; and as random when the labelled and non-labelled cells were randomly distributed. Total cell count (TCC) and the ICM/TE ratio was allowed by DNA staining with 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) and by immunostaining of the ICM with Sox2 antibody. Analysis of variance was performed by one-way ANOVA employing IBM SPSS v21 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA) to determine any difference between the cell lineage allocation patterns, TCC, and the ICM/TE ratio. P-values = 0.05 were considered significant. All values are reported as mean ± standard error of mean. Within 40 repetitions, the blastocyst classification was as follows: orthogonal 14.9% (±2.32, n = 56), deviant 22.2% (±2.58, n = 80), and random 62.9% (±2.64, n = 210). A significant difference was found in the incidence between the random group against the orthogonal and deviant, but not between the latter two. Regarding TCC, a significant difference was observed only between the orthogonal (99.6 ± 11.7 cells, n = 15) and deviant (135 ± 7.3 cells, n = 25) groups, but not with random embryos (116 ± 5.5 cells, n = 42). Finally, no significant difference was found among the groups concerning the ICM/TE ratio (0.43 ± 0.07 for orthogonal, n = 7; 0.54 ± 0.06 for deviant, n = 14; and 0.40 ± 0.03 for random embryos, n = 26). In conclusion, bovine embryos present a marked tendency for a random distribution of the daughter cells derived from the 2-cell blastomeres. However, around 37% of the blastocysts present a patterned cell division, where the daughter cells remain together through pre-implantation development. The effect of these cell lineage allocation patterns on implantation and further embryo development needs to be addressed.The authors acknowledge Laboratoire d'Excellence Revive (Investissement d'Avenir, ANR-10-LABX-73) and CONACyT Mexico for funding.


2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 283-291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yu-cheng Wang ◽  
Marlene B Zuraek ◽  
Yasuhiro Kosaka ◽  
Yasuharu Ota ◽  
Michael S German ◽  
...  

Neuroendocrine (NE) or carcinoid tumors of the small intestine (SI) frequently metastasize and produce the hormone serotonin, causing significant morbidity and mortality. A member of the ETS oncogene family of transcription factors, Fev, acts with the homeodomain transcription factor Nkx2.2 in the development of serotonin neurons in mice. In this study, we investigated the role of Fev in normal and neoplastic SI. In NE tumors (NETs) of the SI, serotonin stimulates tumor growth and causes debilitating symptoms, such as diarrhea, flushing, wheezing, and right-sided valvular heart disease (i.e. carcinoid syndrome). Compared with those in the matched normal human SI, FEV expression levels were significantly elevated in primary NETs (20-fold, P<0.0001), lymph node metastases (35-fold, P=0.004), and NET liver metastases (22-fold, P<0.0001) resected from patients with serotonin excess. Fev is expressed in the wild type but not in Nkx2.2 (−/−) mouse SI, in which cells producing serotonin are absent. Using recombination-based cell lineage tracing, we found that FEV-positive cells give rise to serotonin-producing cells in the SI. In Fev (−/−) mouse SI, we observed no difference in the number of cells producing serotonin or other hormones. We conclude that FEV expression identifies serotonin-producing cells in normal and neoplastic SI and is a novel target for diagnosis of patients with NETs of the SI.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guak-Kim Tan ◽  
Brian A. Pryce ◽  
Anna Stabio ◽  
Douglas R. Keene ◽  
Sara F. Tufa ◽  
...  

AbstractUnderstanding the role of cell recruitment in tendon disorders is critical for improvements in regenerative therapy. We recently reported that targeted disruption of TGFβ type II receptor in the tendon cell lineage (Tgfbr2ScxCre) resulted in tenocyte dedifferentiation and tendon degradation in post-natal stages. Here we extend the analysis and identify direct recruitment of stem/progenitor cells into the degenerative mutant tendons. Cre-lineage tracing indicates that these cells are not derived from tendon ensheathing tissues or from a Scleraxis-lineage, and they turned on tendon markers only upon entering the mutant tendons. Through immunohistochemistry and inducible gene deletion, we further find that the recruited cells originated from a Sox9-expressing lineage and their recruitment was dependent on cell-autonomous TGFβ signaling. These results thus differ from previous reports of cell recruitment into injured tendons, and suggest a critical role for TGFβ signaling and cell recruitment in the etiology and treatment of tendon degeneration.


2002 ◽  
Vol 71 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 9-28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Scholtz ◽  
Carsten Wolff

Investigations of amphipod embryonic development have a long tradition. However, many aspects of amphipod embryology are still controversial. These concern, among others, the nature of the cleavage, the origin of the germ disc, and the mode of gastrulation. On the other hand, amphipods show the same characteristic type of invariant cell division pattern in the germ band as other malacostracans. Since amphipods seem to undergo a stereotyped pattern of early cleavage they are highly interesting for our understanding of the evolution of arthropod development. In this paper, we describe the cleavage pattern of the amphipod crustacean Orchestia cavimana from the zygote to gastrulation and the formation of the germ disc using direct observation, scanning electron microscopy, histology, video recording, and lineage tracing with a vital dye. The early development follows the mode of a total, radial, unequal cleavage with a determinate stereotyped pattern. A small transient blastocoel is formed. The 8-cell stage is characterised by 4 micromeres and 4 macromeres. One quadrant is smaller than the others. There are two kinds of eggs that show a mirror handed image. The 16-cell stage is the last regular stage after which the blastomeres divide highly asynchronously. The germ disc is formed by the descendants of the macromeres and some micromere derivatives. The other micromeres constitute the extra-embryonic region. Migration of macromere descendants is involved in germ disc formation accompanied by the extrusion of the yolk. During this process some vitellophages are formed. The gastrulation sensu stricto is initiated by the micromere derivatives of the smallest quadrant at the anterior of the forming germ disc. A true blastopore occurs which involves an invagination and the immigration of cells. Our data help to correct erroneous interpretations of former students of amphipod development. We can show that many characters of amphipod embryonic development are apomorphic supporting amphipod monophyly. With the present investigation we contribute to a complete understanding of the embryonic cell lineage of amphipods from the egg to segment formation and organogenesis.


2014 ◽  
Vol 211 (7) ◽  
pp. 1421-1431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tae-Jin Kim ◽  
Vaibhav Upadhyay ◽  
Vinay Kumar ◽  
Kyung-Mi Lee ◽  
Yang-Xin Fu

Natural killer (NK) cell development relies on signals provided from the bone marrow (BM) microenvironment. It is thought that lymphotoxin (LT) α1β2 expressed by the NK cell lineage interacts with BM stromal cells to promote NK cell development. However, we now report that a small number of RORγt+ innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), and not CD3−NK1.1+ cells, express LT to drive NK development. Similar to LT−/− or RORγt−/− mice, the mice conditionally lacking LTα1β2 on RORγt+ ILCs experience a developmental arrest at the immature NK stages, between stages of NK development to the mature NK cell stage. This developmental block results in a functional deficiency in the clearance of NK-sensitive tumor cells. Reconstitution of Thy1+ ILCs from BM or purified RORγt+ ILCs from lamina propria lymphocytes into LT-deficient RORγt+ BM cultures rescues NK cell development. These data highlight a previously undiscovered role of RORγt+ ILCs for NK cell development and define LT from ILCs as an essential molecule for the stromal microenvironment supporting NK cell development.


Author(s):  
Francesca Pagani ◽  
Elisa Tratta ◽  
Patrizia Dell’Era ◽  
Manuela Cominelli ◽  
Pietro Luigi Poliani

AbstractEarly B-cell factor-1 (EBF1) is a transcription factor with an important role in cell lineage specification and commitment during the early stage of cell maturation. Originally described during B-cell maturation, EBF1 was subsequently identified as a crucial molecule for proper cell fate commitment of mesenchymal stem cells into adipocytes, osteoblasts and muscle cells. In vessels, EBF1 expression and function have never been documented. Our data indicate that EBF1 is highly expressed in peri-endothelial cells in both tumor vessels and in physiological conditions. Immunohistochemistry, quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analysis suggest that EBF1-expressing peri-endothelial cells represent bona fide pericytes and selectively express well-recognized markers employed in the identification of the pericyte phenotype (SMA, PDGFRβ, CD146, NG2). This observation was also confirmed in vitro in human placenta-derived pericytes and in human brain vascular pericytes (HBVP). Of note, in accord with the key role of EBF1 in the cell lineage commitment of mesenchymal stem cells, EBF1-silenced HBVP cells showed a significant reduction in PDGFRβ and CD146, but not CD90, a marker mostly associated with a prominent mesenchymal phenotype. Moreover, the expression levels of VEGF, angiopoietin-1, NG2 and TGF-β, cytokines produced by pericytes during angiogenesis and linked to their differentiation and activation, were also significantly reduced. Overall, the data suggest a functional role of EBF1 in the cell fate commitment toward the pericyte phenotype.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fang Li ◽  
Zaichao Zheng ◽  
Hongyu Li ◽  
Rongrong Fu ◽  
Limei Xu ◽  
...  

AbstractDespite the central role of hemocytes in crustacean immunity, the process of hemocyte differentiation and maturation remains unclear. In some decapods, it has been proposed that the two main types of hemocytes, granular cells (GCs) and semigranular cells (SGCs), differentiate along separate lineages. However, our current findings challenge this model. By tracking newly produced hemocytes and transplanted cells, we demonstrate that almost all the circulating hemocytes of crayfish belong to the GC lineage. SGCs and GCs may represent hemocytes of different developmental stages rather than two types of fully differentiated cells. Hemocyte precursors produced by progenitor cells differentiate in the hematopoietic tissue (HPT) for 3 ~ 4 days. Immature hemocytes are released from HPT in the form of SGCs and take 1 ~ 3 months to mature in the circulation. GCs represent the terminal stage of development. They can survive for as long as 2 months. The changes in the expression pattern of marker genes during GC differentiation support our conclusions. Further analysis of hemocyte phagocytosis indicates the existence of functionally different subpopulations. These findings may reshape our understanding of crustacean hematopoiesis and may lead to reconsideration of the roles and relationship of circulating hemocytes.


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