Characteristics of populations of the coelomic fluid and coelomic epithelium cells from the starfish Asterias rubens L. able attach to and spread on various substrates

Abstract

Cultivation is one of the methods of modeling processes occurring in vivo. The success of cultivation, in particular, depends on the choice of substrate. We studied the ability of coelomocytes and coelomic epithelial cells to be attached and spread on fibronectin, laminin, polylysine, and glass. The qualitative composition of heterogeneous populations of coelomocytes and epithelial cells was determined after staining the cells with rhodamine-phalloidin and DAPI, and changes in the composition of populations were evaluated in response to trauma. Seven arbitrary classes of coelomocytes have been identified, three of them being shown to participate in clot formation during primary wound reparation. There was a change in the percentage of these cells attached to specific ligands in response to trauma. In coelomic epithelium, eight arbitrary classes of cells have been identified, two of them being probable candidates for the role of progenitor cells for coelomocytes—coelomocyte-like and small epithelial cells with a high nuclear-cytoplasmic ratio. Enrichment with the small cells in a population of attached coelomic epithelium cells has been revealed when seeding on laminin. Preservation of viability of epithelial cells has been shown when cultured on laminin for 2 months.