Abstract
We have investigated the effects of cytochalasin D on first cleavage of fertilized eggs from the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus. Cytochalasin D inhibits the cortical actin filament reorganization that occurs immediately after fertilization in sea urchin eggs, and arrests cell division by preventing normal contractile ring formation which inhibits cytokinesis. In this study, eggs were incubated in 2 or 4 μg/mL cytochalasin D within the first 5 minutes post-fertilization, for 10, 20, or 30 minutes, followed by washout with artificial sea water. At 2 μg/mL, two groups of results were obtained; a 20–25 minute delay in cytokinesis irrespective of exposure time, and a time-dependent response where longer incubation times produced lengthier delays in cytokinesis. The time-dependent delays in cell division also occurred at 4 μg/mL cytochalasin D, along with cytotoxic effects that correlated to the length of drug exposure. The results show that disruption of the normal actin cytoskeleton reorganization which occurs within the first 30 minutes after fertilization can affect the timing of first cleavage, suggesting that the state of the actin cytoskeleton is somehow monitored as cells enter cytokinesis.
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