Cell adhesion molecule in the hexactinellid Aphrocallistes vastus

Evolution of mechanisms controlling epithelial morphogenesis across animals: new insights from dissociation-reaggregation experiments in the sponge Oscarella lobularis

BACKGROUND

The ancestral presence of epithelia in Metazoa is no longer debated. Porifera seem to be one of the best candidates to be the sister group to all other Metazoa. This makes them a key taxon to explore cell-adhesion evolution on animals. For this reason, several transcriptomic, genomic, histological, physiological and biochemical studies focused on sponge epithelia. Nevertheless, the complete and precise protein composition of cell-cell junctions and mechanisms that regulate epithelial morphogenetic processes still remain at the center of attention.

RESULTS

To get insights into the early evolution of epithelial morphogenesis, we focused on morphogenic characteristics of the homoscleromorph sponge Oscarella lobularis. Homoscleromorpha are a sponge class with a typical basement membrane and adhaerens-like junctions unknown in other sponge classes. We took advantage of the dynamic context provided by cell dissociation-reaggregation experiments to explore morphogenetic processes in epithelial cells in a non-bilaterian lineage by combining fluorescent and electron microscopy observations and RNA sequencing approaches at key time-points of the dissociation and reaggregation processes.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results show that part of the molecular toolkit involved in the loss and restoration of epithelial features such as cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion is conserved between Homoscleromorpha and Bilateria, suggesting their common role in the last common ancestor of animals. In addition, sponge-specific genes are differently expressed during the dissociation and reaggregation processes, calling for future functional characterization of these genes.

Porifera Lectins: Diversity, Physiological Roles and Biotechnological Potential

An overview on the diversity of 39 lectins from the phylum Porifera is presented, including 38 lectins, which were identified from the class of demosponges, and one lectin from the class of hexactinellida. Their purification from crude extracts was mainly performed by using affinity chromatography and gel filtration techniques. Other protocols were also developed in order to collect and study sponge lectins, including screening of sponge genomes and expression in heterologous bacterial systems. The characterization of the lectins was performed by Edman degradation or mass spectrometry. Regarding their physiological roles, sponge lectins showed to be involved in morphogenesis and cell interaction, biomineralization and spiculogenesis, as well as host defense mechanisms and potentially in the association between the sponge and its microorganisms. In addition, these lectins exhibited a broad range of bioactivities, including modulation of inflammatory response, antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities, as well as anticancer and neuromodulatory activity. In view of their potential pharmacological applications, sponge lectins constitute promising molecules of biotechnological interest.

The biology of glass sponges

As the most ancient extant metazoans, glass sponges (Hexactinellida) have attracted recent attention in the areas of molecular evolution and the evolution of conduction systems but they are also interesting because of their unique histology: the greater part of their soft tissue consists of a single, multinucleate syncytium that ramifies throughout the sponge. This trabecular syncytium serves both for transport and as a pathway for propagation of action potentials that trigger flagellar arrests in the flagellated chambers. The present chapter is the first comprehensive modern account of this group and covers work going back to the earliest work dealing with taxonomy, gross morphology and histology as well as dealing with more recent studies. The structure of cellular and syncytial tissues and the formation of specialised intercellular junctions are described. Experimental work on reaggregation of dissociated tissues is also covered, a process during which histocompatibility, fusion and syncytialisation have been investigated, and where the role of the cytoskeleton in tissue architecture and transport processes has been studied in depth. The siliceous skeleton is given special attention, with an account of discrete spicules and fused silica networks, their diversity and distribution, their importance as taxonomic features and the process of silication. Studies on particle capture, transport of internalised food objects and disposal of indigestible wastes are reviewed, along with production and control of the feeding current. The electrophysiology of the conduction system coordinating flagellar arrests is described. The review covers salient features of hexactinellid ecology, including an account of habitats, distribution, abundance, growth, seasonal regression, predation, mortality, regeneration, recruitment and symbiotic associations with other organisms. Work on the recently discovered hexactinellid reefs of Canada's western continental shelf, analogues of long-extinct Jurassic sponge reefs, is given special attention. Reproductive biology is another area that has benefited from recent investigations. Seasonality, gametogenesis, embryogenesis, differentiation and larval biology are now understood in broad outline, at least for some species. The process whereby the cellular early larva becomes syncytial is described. A final section deals with the classification of recent and fossil glass sponges, phylogenetic relationships within the Hexactinellida and the phylogenetic position of the group within the Porifera. Palaeontological aspects are covered in so far as they are relevant to these topics.

Dissociated cells of the calcareous sponge clathrina: a model for investigating cell adhesion and cell motility in vitro

The study of cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion in vitro is useful for understanding cell behavior in a three-dimensional pattern. We have used dissociated cells (choanocytes represent the main fraction) from the calcareous sponge Clathrina, namely C. cerebrum and C. clathrus, to illustrate our present understanding on three main aspects of cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion in vitro: (1) cytoskeletal protrusions; (2) cell behaviours on organic substrata; and (3) paths of locomotory sponge cell. Cell locomotion occurs by the extensions of scleropodial and lamellipodial protrusions, by way of actin polymerization. The extent to which cells produce these cytoplasmic processes varies according to the substratum (e.g., collagen, fibronectin, laminin, polylysine). It was found that more cell extensions were produced on collagen substrata, and this led to greater cell movement. Advancing choanocytes are not polarized. Their paths are particularly complicated, showing linear segments, which produce a more efficent cellular translocation, and winding tracts with frequent turns or loops. Small amoeboid cells describe more linear paths with a wide range of speed variation than larger cells. The presence of cell-derived substratum reduces the progressive dispersion of cells and allows cells to encounter one another in such a way that the initial random walking later turns into non-random displacement. Even though cAMP-treated cells exhibit different aggregative tactics, cAMP 10(-8) M remarkably enhances cell encounters and supports the existing information that this cyclic nucleotide represents a signal that affects cell morphology and locomotion. The bulk of data on sponge cell-cell and cell-substratum adhesion has been evaluated by mentioning the significant advances and references concerning studies of other cell systems.