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ECB-ART-44194
Dev Dyn 2015 Dec 01;24412:1469-84. doi: 10.1002/dvdy.24337.
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Influence of cell polarity on early development of the sea urchin embryo.

Moorhouse KS , Gudejko HF , McDougall A , Burgess DR .


Abstract
BACKGROUND: Establishment and maintenance of cell polarity is critical for normal embryonic development. Previously, it was thought that the echinoderm embryo remained relatively unpolarized until the first asymmetric division at the 16-cell stage. Here, we analyzed roles of the cell polarity regulators, the PAR complex proteins, and how their disruption in early development affects later developmental milestones. RESULTS: We found that PAR6, aPKC, and CDC42 localize to the apical cortex as early as the 2-cell stage and that this localization is retained through the gastrula stage. Of interest, PAR1 also colocalizes with these apical markers through the gastrula stage. Additionally, PAR1 was found to be in complex with aPKC, but not PAR6. PAR6, aPKC, and CDC42 are anchored in the cortical actin cytoskeleton by assembled myosin. Furthermore, assembled myosin was found to be necessary to maintain proper PAR6 localization through subsequent cleavage divisions. Interference with myosin assembly prevented the embryos from reaching the blastula stage, while transient disruptions of either actin or microtubules did not have this effect. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest that disruptions of the polarity in the early embryo can have a significant impact on the ability of the embryo to reach later critical stages in development.

PubMed ID: 26293695
PMC ID: PMC4715636
Article link: Dev Dyn
Grant support: [+]

Genes referenced: cdc42 impact LOC100887844 LOC115919910 LOC590297 scxl
Antibodies: LOC592325 Ab1 cdc42 Ab2

References [+] :
Ahringer, Control of cell polarity and mitotic spindle positioning in animal cells. 2003, Pubmed