title: Membrane-cytoskeletal interactions in the early mouse embryo.
abstract: Differentiation in the early mouse embryo begins at the 8-cell stage when the blastomeres flatten against each other by active spreading movements and surface and cytoplasmic elements become concentrated in the apical (uncontacted) region of the cells. A ring of cortical myosin marks the demarcation between the contacted and the uncontacted cellular domains. The organization of the cortical contractile apparatus in the blastomeres bears a formal resemblance to that of other cells that are engaged in similar motile activities. It has been proposed that a flow of cortical filaments could provide the motor that powers these movements. The applicability of such a cortical flow model to the early embryo and the implications for cell flattening and cell polarization are discussed in this review.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomical Sciences, State University of New York, Buffalo 14214.
authors.forename: J S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Sobel
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015820:Cadherins / Q000502:physiology; D002448:Cell Adhesion; D002451:Cell Compartmentation; D002462:Cell Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D002465:Cell Movement; D002970:Cleavage Stage, Ovum / Q000502:physiology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000502:physiology*; D051379:Mice; D008870:Microtubules / Q000502:physiology; D009218:Myosins / Q000502:physiology; D013049:Spectrin / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D015820:Cadherins; D013049:Spectrin; D009218:Myosins