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Title: Cell surface of sea urchin micromeres and primary mesenchyme. [Arbacia punctulata; Strongylocentrotus drobachiensis; Strongylocentrotus purpuratus]

Thesis/Dissertation ·
OSTI ID:5941861

The cell surface and extracellular matrix (ECM) of the sea urchin embryo were studied during the early morphogenetic events involved in the differentiation of the micromere cell lineage. Sixteen-cell and early cleavage stage blastomeres were isolated and the protein composition of their cell surfaces examined by /sup 125/I-labelling followed by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). Micromere-specific cell surface proteins are reported for Arbacia punctulata, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, and Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Cell surface glycoproteins were characterized on the basis of lectin binding specificity with a novel lectin affinity transfer technique. Using this procedure, cell-type specific surface proteins, which are also lectin-binding specific, can be detected. In addition, fluorescein conjugated lectins were microinjected into the blastocoels of living S. drobachiensis and Lytechinus pictus embryos and the patterns of lectin bindings observed by fluorescence microscopy. The evidence presented in this thesis suggests that the differentiation of the primary mesenchyme cells is correlated with changes in the molecular composition of the cell-surface and the ECM.

Research Organization:
Dartmouth Coll., Hanover, NH (USA)
OSTI ID:
5941861
Resource Relation:
Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English