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Mesoderm layer and fibrous support tissues essential for embryological differentiation.

Of the three germ layers, the mesoderm layer is the first to differentiate from the blastula and continues to lead the embryological differentiation while initiating the secretion of antagonistic duplication and maturation factors. After differentiation and while maintaining the secretion of duplication and maturation factors, the fibrous tissues that differentiated from mesoderm play an essential role in regulating the physio-mitotic conditions of functional tissues found in all histological organizations. Accordingly, some defects in mitotic interaction between the fibrous and functional tissues organized into structural units may give rise to various diseases such as carcinoma, sarcoma, leukemia, and fibro-multiplastic, myo-atrophic and neuroatrophic diseases. This defect in mitosis suggests the most important step in achieving eradication of these diseases.

Blastula↗

A histochemical study on the enzymatic activity in the proximal epiphysis of the humerus during the prenatal and postnatal periods in rats.

In order to investigate the activity of certain enzymes [Alkaline phosphatase (ALP), Acid phosphatase (ACP), Adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), 5'-Nucleotidase (5'-N)] in the proximal epiphysis of the humerus, tissue specimens were obtained from pregnant rats on the 15th, 17th, 19th and 20th days of gestation and on the 1st, 10th, 20th, 30th, 40th and 60th days of postnatal development. Enzymatic activity in the chondral ossification, in the perichondral areas of the epiphysis, was first seen on the 15th day of gestation. ALP and ATPase could also be observed for the first time in fetuses aged 15 days, whereas ACP and 5'-N could not be detected. These latter enzymes were observed for the first time in the proximal humeral epiphysis of fetuses aged 17 days. ALP, a marker for hypertrophic and calcifying cartilage, was observed extensively in the central hypertrophic part of the cartilaginous perichondral zones, which showed calcification during the development of the epiphysis. ALP, ATP and 5'-N activity was very marked in the cytoplasm of osteoblasts and in the periosteal matrix, but strong ACP activity was found in the cells of the chondrolysis zone. In conclusion; according to our observations, heterogeneity of the proximal epiphysis of the humerus exhibits intrinsic differences between the cells of different zones. The activity of all enzymes showed an increase according to the developmental age. This suggests that all of these enzymes play a role during developmental ossification.

5'-Nucleotidase↗

Mammalian development: axes in the egg?

An enduring but erroneous belief is that the post-fertilisation period is irrelevant for axis development in mammals. Two recent studies further undermine this belief. Is information for axial developmental encoded in the egg cortex?

Animals↗

Separase is required for chromosome segregation during meiosis I in Caenorhabditis elegans.

BACKGROUND: Chromosome segregation during mitosis and meiosis is triggered by dissolution of sister chromatid cohesion, which is mediated by the cohesin complex. Mitotic sister chromatid disjunction requires that cohesion be lost along the entire length of chromosomes, whereas homolog segregation at meiosis I only requires loss of cohesion along chromosome arms. During animal cell mitosis, cohesin is lost in two steps. A nonproteolytic mechanism removes cohesin along chromosome arms during prophase, while the proteolytic cleavage of cohesin's Scc1 subunit by separase removes centromeric cohesin at anaphase. In Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Caenorhabditis elegans, meiotic sister chromatid cohesion is mediated by Rec8, a meiosis-specific variant of cohesin's Scc1 subunit. Homolog segregation in S. cerevisiae is triggered by separase-mediated cleavage of Rec8 along chromosome arms. In principle, chiasmata could be resolved proteolytically by separase or nonproteolytically using a mechanism similar to the mitotic "prophase pathway." RESULTS: Inactivation of separase in C. elegans has little or no effect on homolog alignment on the meiosis I spindle but prevents their timely disjunction. It also interferes with chromatid separation during subsequent embryonic mitotic divisions but does not directly affect cytokinesis. Surprisingly, separase inactivation also causes osmosensitive embryos, possibly due to a defect in the extraembryonic structures, referred to as the "eggshell." CONCLUSIONS: Separase is essential for homologous chromosome disjunction during meiosis I. Proteolytic cleavage, presumably of Rec8, might be a common trigger for the first meiotic division in eukaryotic cells. Cleavage of proteins other than REC-8 might be necessary to render the eggshell impermeable to solutes.

Animals↗

Sequential signalling during Caenorhabditis elegans vulval induction.

During the induction of the Caenorhabditis elegans vulva, cell signalling causes initially equipotent cells to express a reproducible pattern of cell fates. The position of the anchor cell determines the pattern of vulval precursor cell fates, such that the closest precursor cell (P6.p) expresses the primary cell fate, the next closest cells (P5.p and P7.p) both express the secondary cell fate, and each of the precursor cells located at a distance (P3.p, P4.p and P8.p) express the tertiary cell fate (Fig. 1a). We present data indicating that this stereotypical pattern of cell fates can be generated by sequential signals. We identified genetic mosaic animals in which P5.p and P7.p were defective in the anchor-cell signal-transduction pathway and observed that these cells adopted the secondary cell fate, indicating that anchor-cell signal transduction is not required for the expression of the secondary cell fate. These results suggest that the anchor cell induces P6.p to express the primary cell fate, and that P6.p subsequently induces P5.p and P7.p to express the secondary cell fate.

Animals↗

The Polo-like kinase Plx1 interacts with and inhibits Myt1 after fertilization of Xenopus eggs.

During the meiotic cell cycle in Xenopus oocytes, p90(rsk), the downstream kinase of the Mos-MAPK pathway, interacts with and inhibits the Cdc2 inhibitory kinase Myt1. However, p90(rsk) is inactivated after fertilization due to the degradation of Mos. Here we show that the Polo-like kinase Plx1, instead of p90(rsk), interacts with and inhibits Myt1 after fertilization of Xenopus eggs. At the M phase of the embryonic cell cycle, Cdc2 phosphorylates Myt1 on Thr478 and thereby creates a docking site for Plx1. Plx1 can phosphorylate Myt1 and inhibit its kinase activity both in vitro and in vivo. The interaction between Myt1 and Plx1 is required, at least in part, for normal embryonic cell divisions. Finally, and interestingly, Myt1 is phosphorylated on Thr478 even during the meiotic cell cycle, but its interaction with Plx1 is largely inhibited by p90(rsk)-mediated phosphorylation. These results indicate a switchover in the Myt1 inhibition mechanism at fertilization of Xenopus eggs, and strongly suggest that Plx1 acts as a direct inhibitory kinase of Myt1 in the mitotic cell cycles in Xenopus.

Animals↗

Human pEg3 kinase associates with and phosphorylates CDC25B phosphatase: a potential role for pEg3 in cell cycle regulation.

The pEg3 protein is a member of the evolutionarily conserved KIN1/PAR-1/MARK kinase family which is involved in cell polarity and microtubule dynamics. In Xenopus, pEg3 has been shown to be a cell cycle dependent kinase whose activity increases to a maximum level during mitosis of the first embryonic cell division. CDC25B is one of the three CDC25 phosphatase genes identified in human. It is thought to regulate the G2/M progression by dephosphorylating and activating the CDK/cyclin complexes. In the present study we show that the human pEg3 kinase is able to specifically phosphorylate CDC25B in vitro. One phosphorylation site was identified and corresponded to serine 323. This residue is equivalent to serine 216 in human CDC25C which plays an important role in the regulation of phosphatase during the cell cycle and at the G2 checkpoint. pEg3 is also able to specifically associate with CDC25B in vitro and in vivo. We show that the ectopic expression of active pEg3 in human U2OS cells induces an accumulation of cells in G2. This effect is counteracted by overexpression of CDC25B. Taken together these results suggest that pEg3 is a potential regulator of the G2/M progression and may act antagonistically to the CDC25B phosphatase.

Animals↗

Tumour growth results in changes in placental amino acid transport in the rat: a tumour necrosis factor alpha-mediated effect.

The implantation of a fast growing tumour (Yoshida AH-130 ascites hepatoma) to late pregnant rats resulted in no changes in fetal growth, this possibly being associated with an important increase in the fetal uptake of maternal-derived amino acids [Carbó, López-Soriano and Argilés (1995) Endocrinology 136, 3579-3584]. The present investigation was undertaken to see whether the presence of the tumour induced changes in placental transport systems. For alanine transport, although no changes in affinity (Km) were observed, tumour growth resulted in a 192% increase in Vmax in the Na(+)-independent component. Kinetic analysis of the Na(+)-dependent component resulted in two clearly different components: while the low-affinity and high-capacity component was unaffected by tumour growth, the high-affinity, low-capacity component of the tumour-bearing rats showed an important increase in Vmax. (78%). With regard to leucine transport, tumour burden induced important increases in the Na(+)-independent component, not only in Km (262%) but also in Vmax. (189%). Since elevated tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) concentrations have been reported in this kind of tumour model, we performed the same type of transport experiments in rats chronically treated with TNF, the results obtained showing great similarities with those observed with tumour growth. The Vmax. of Na(+)-independent alanine transport was also increased by the cytokine (104%) while no changes were observed in affinity. TNF treatment also induced an increase in the Vmax. (67%) of the Na(+)-dependent (high-affinity, low-capacity) component while no changes in affinity were observed. Concerning leucine kinetics, TNF treatment, as in the case of tumour growth, also increased Km (155%) and Vmax. (72%) associated with Na(+)-independent transport. Interestingly, treatment with the cytokine increased both the Km (43%) and Vmax. (64%) of the Na(+)-dependent component. The inhibition patterns suggest the existence of more that one Na(+)-dependent transport for alanine although the majority of the amino acid is transported through the A system. The results presented suggest that, during gestation, the mother is able to adapt her placental amino acid transport systems to compensate for the nitrogen drainage associated with tumour growth and thus provide the fetus with enough amino acids to allow its normal growth, and that TNF could be responsible for the triggering of this compensatory mechanism.

Alanine↗

Cell birthdays in Xenopus laevis retina.

Using an in vitro differentiation system, we reevaluated the stages of development during which retinal neurons become postmitotic in Xenopus laevis. We also examined whether retinal detachment and removal of the pigment epithelium stimulated proliferation of previously postmitotic retinal cells. Retinas with and without an adherent pigment epithelium (stages 24-40 and stage 33/34, respectively) were removed from X. laevis embryos, placed in culture and allowed to differentiate in the presence of 3H-thymidine. After 2 days, eyes were fixed and processed for autoradiography. The proportion of labeled to unlabeled nuclei in the posterior pole of the retina was determined for each of the three cell layers. Early in development, most unlabeled cells were found in the ganglion cell layer; at stage 24, 53% of the cells showed no labeling, but by stage 32-33/34 all of the cells present were unlabeled. Within the outer nuclear layer, 17% of the cells failed to incorporate the 3H-thymidine at stage 24 and by stage 33/34, 100% of the cells were unlabeled. Within the inner nuclear layer, 13.5% of the cells failed to show labeling at stage 24, whereas at stage 40, none of the cells were labeled. There was no difference in the proportion of labeled to unlabeled nuclei in any of the cell layers when retinas were allowed to differentiate either with or without an adherent pigment epithelium. These results indicate that as early as stage 24, some cells that will become positioned in each of the nuclear strata fail to incorporate 3H-thymidine, suggesting that these cells become postmitotic very early in neurogenesis.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗