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First published online January 14, 2005

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Early embryonic inequalities

The cells in early mouse embryos are generally thought to have equivalent developmental properties until at least the eight-cell stage. On p. 479, Piotrowska-Nitsche and colleagues challenge this idea by showing for the first time that four-cell stage mouse blastomeres have different developmental properties that depend on their embryonic origin. In most two-cell mouse embryos, one cell divides meridionally and the other divides equatorially or obliquely with respect to the second polar body. The researchers report that chimaeras made entirely of specific equatorially or obliquely derived four-cell stage blastomeres show developmental abnormalities - those made from the most vegetal blastomeres are most severely affected. By contrast, chimaeras made from meridionally derived blastomeres develop normally. However, when individual blastomeres are surrounded by blastomeres from random positions, they contribute to all embryonic lineages. Thus, although four-cell stage blastomeres all have full developmental potential, they differ in their developmental properties.

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Four-cell stage mouse blastomeres have different developmental properties

Karolina Piotrowska-Nitsche, Aitana Perea-Gomez, Seiki Haraguchi, and Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz
Development 2005 132: 479-490. [Abstract] [Full Text]  

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in Development Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                         What's this?