Search results for " Embryos"
showing 10 items of 47 documents
Dorsal root ganglia neurite outgrowth measured as a function of changes in microelectrode array resistance
2017
Current research in prosthetic device design aims to mimic natural movements using a feedback system that connects to the patient's own nerves to control the device. The first step in using neurons to control motion is to make and maintain contact between neurons and the feedback sensors. Therefore, the goal of this project was to determine if changes in electrode resistance could be detected when a neuron extended a neurite to contact a sensor. Dorsal root ganglia (DRG) were harvested from chick embryos and cultured on a collagen-coated carbon nanotube microelectrode array for two days. The DRG were seeded along one side of the array so the processes extended across the array, contacting a…
Gene expression during early embryogenesis of sea urchin: The histone and homeobox genes
1997
Transcriptional regulators are thought to play a key role in cell fate determination and territorial specification in sea urchin. Our goals are to clone transcription factors for studying embryonic development. One approach has been to use promoter binding and gene transfer technology to investigate the mechanisms of transcriptional activation and repression of the early H2A histone gene. By this analysis we identified a transcriptional activator, the MBF-1, that binds to the modulator element of the H2A gene and enhances the activity of the H2A promoter. However, the enhancer activity of the modulator and its interaction with MBF-1 also occurs at the gastrula stage when the early histone g…
Identification and characterization of a constitutive HSP75 in sea urchin embryos.
1997
Abstract An antiserum against a hsp of the 70-kDa family was prepared, by means of a fusion protein, which was able to detect a constitutive 75-kDa hsc in the sea urchinP. lividus.This hsc was present both during oogenesis and at all developmental stages. A two-dimensional electrophoresis has revealed four isolectric forms of this 75-kDa hsc. The amino acid sequence of the fragment used to prepare the anti-hsp70 antibodies revealed a 43% identity with the corresponding part of sea urchin sperm receptor, and in mature eggs a brighter immunofluorescence was seen all around the cell cortex where the receptor for sea urchin sperm is localized. In oocytes the hsp75 was localized in the cytoplasm…
Manganese interferes with calcium, perturbs ERK signaling, and produces embryos with no skeleton.
2011
Manganese (Mn) has been associated with embryo toxicity as it impairs differentiation of neural and skeletogenic cells in vertebrates. Nevertheless, information on the mechanisms operating at the cellular level remains scant. We took advantage of an amenable embryonic model to investigate the effects of Mn in biomineral formation. Sea urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) embryos were exposed to Mn from fertilization, harvested at different developmental stages, and analyzed for their content in calcium (Ca), expression of skeletogenic genes, localization of germ layer markers, and activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK). By optical and immunofluorescence microscopy, we found…
Vanadium Modulates Proteolytic Activities and MMP-14-Like Levels during Paracentrotus lividus Embryogenesis
2022
The increasing industrial use of vanadium (V), as well as its recent medical use in various pathologies has intensified its environmental release, making it an emerging pollutant. The sea urchin embryo has long been used to study the effects induced by metals, including V. In this study we used an integrated approach that correlates the biological effects on embryo development with proteolytic activities of gelatinases that could better reflect any metal-induced imbalances. V-exposure caused morphological/morphometric aberrations, mainly concerning the correct distribution of embryonic cells, the development of the skeleton, and the embryo volume. Moreover, V induced a concentration change …
Marine Invertebrates as Bioindicators of Heavy Metal Pollution
2014
Atmosphere, earth and water compose the environment. The presence of heavy metals in the environment has grown because of their large employment in some industrial and agricultural activities. Although these metals are terrestrial products, they flow into the sea through effluents and sewage or are directly discharged from industries placed on the seawater front. It should be considered that metals concentrations vary widely according to different seawater latitudes and depths and can be strongly influenced by fresh water discharges from heavily polluted rivers. In this review recent studies on heavy metal pollution in marine ecosystems and their organisms will be presented. Metal speciatio…
Toxic effects induced by vanadium on sea urchin embryos
2020
Vanadium, a naturally occurring element widely distributed in soil, water and air, has received considerable interest because its compounds are often used in different applications, from industry to medicine. While the possible medical use of vanadium compounds is promising, its potential harmful effects on living organisms are still unclear. Here, for the first time, we provide a toxicological profile induced by vanadium on Paracentrotus lividus sea urchin embryos, reporting an integrated and comparative analysis of the detected effects reflecting vanadium-toxicity. At the morphological level we found a dose-dependent induction of altered phenotypes and of skeletal malformations. At the mo…
Partial purification and some properties of a nucleoside phosphotransferase of chick embryos.
1978
A nucleoside phosphotransferase purified about 40fold from chick embryos utilizes efficiently as phosphate donors deoxyribonucleoside and pyrimidine ribonucleoside monophosphates, whereas the pyrimidine deoxyribonucleoside appear to be the preferred acceptors of phosphate. The enzyme is very unstable to heat, dilution and dialysis. A marked enhancement in the stability is caused by nucleotides and it seems associated with the formation of an aggregated state of the protein.
Evaluación de las células de la blastema de aleta caudal como donantes en quimeras intraespecíficas de pez cebra
2008
The blastema is a regenerative tissue with remarkable pluripotency. The aim of this work done on zebrafish (Danio rerio) was to define technical procedures required for obtaining and integrating blastema cells into embryos at the mid blastula transition stage (MBT) and the effect on survival, as well as the capacity to produce pigmented chimaeras. Wild type blastema cells were injected into gold type MBT embryos (E). Wild MBT blastomere cells were also injected into gold type MBT embryos as a control (C1). A second control group, C2, was not subjected to any manipulation. Survival was evaluated at 24, 48 and 72 h after performing the chimaerism, and the rate of adult chimaeras evaluated. Th…
Strategie di difesa attivate in risposta a stress, in embrioni di Paracentrotus lividus
2012
Sea urchin embryos are able to activate different defense strategies against stress. This model system allows to investigate numerous phenomena in multipotent cells, which interact among themselves, in their natural position, bypassing the disadvantages of isolated cells, deprived of their normal network. Cadmium (Cd) treatment triggers the accumulation of metal in embryonic cells and the activation of defense systems depending on concentration and exposure time, through the synthesis of heat shock proteins and/or the initiation of apoptosis. Here we show that Paracentrotus lividus embryos exposed to subacute/sublethal concentrations of Cd adopt autophagy as an additional stratagem to safeg…