Skip to main content
NCBI home page
The Journal of Cell Biology logoLink to The Journal of Cell Biology
. 1978 Nov 1;79(2):371–381. doi: 10.1083/jcb.79.2.371

Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. III. Relationship of the surface molecule CAM to cell adhesion and the development of histotypic patterns

PMCID: PMC2110256  PMID: 569155

Abstract

We have previously identified a molecule (named cell adhesion molecule [CAM]) that is involved in the in vitro aggregation of neural cells from chick embryos. In the present report, specific anti-CAM antibodies have been used to demonstrated that CAM is localized in neural tissues, and is associated with the plasma membrane of retinal cells and neurites. Furthermore, it has been shown by antibody absorption techniques that the decreased adhesiveness of cultured retinal cells obtained originally from older embryos is correlated with a decrease in the density or accessibility of cell adhesion molecules on the surface of these cells. The central role of CAM in neural cell aggregation has been established by the observation that anti-CAM Fab' fragments inhibit adhesion between neural cells in a variety of assays. To investigate the function of CAM and cell adhesion in developing tissues, aggregates of retinal cells that are capable of forming histotypic patterns in vitro were cultured in the presence and absence of anti-CAM Fab'. The Fab' was found to inhibit sorting out of cell bodies and neurites and to decrease the number of membrane-membrane contacts, suggesting that CAM is associated with cell-cell, cell- neurite, and neurite-neurite interactions.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (2.9 MB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Balsamo J., Lilien J. Functional identification of three components which mediate tissue-type specific embryonic cell adhesion. Nature. 1974 Oct 11;251(5475):522–524. doi: 10.1038/251522a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Barbera A. J., Marchase R. B., Roth S. Adhesive recognition and retinotectal specificity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Sep;70(9):2482–2486. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.9.2482. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Brackenbury R., Thiery J. P., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. I. An immunological assay for molecules involved in cell-cell binding. J Biol Chem. 1977 Oct 10;252(19):6835–6840. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Coon H. G. Clonal stability and phenotypic expression of chick cartilage cells in vitro. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1966 Jan;55(1):66–73. doi: 10.1073/pnas.55.1.66. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Curtis A. S., Greaves M. F. The inhibition of cell aggregation by a pure serum protein. J Embryol Exp Morphol. 1965 Jun;13(3):309–326. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Gottlieb D. I., Rock K., Glaser L. A gradient of adhesive specificity in developing avian retina. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Feb;73(2):410–414. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.2.410. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gunther G. R., Wang J. L., Yahara I., Cunningham B. A., Edelman G. M. Concanavalin A derivatives with altered biological activities. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Apr;70(4):1012–1016. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.4.1012. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Hausman R. E., Moscona A. A. Isolation of retina-specific cell-aggregating factor from membranes of embryonic neural retina tissue. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Oct;73(10):3594–3598. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.10.3594. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Hughes W. F., LaVelle A. On the synaptogenic sequence in the chick retina. Anat Rec. 1974 Jul;179(3):297–301. doi: 10.1002/ar.1091790302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Merrell R., Glaser L. Specific recognition of plasma membranes by embryonic cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 Oct;70(10):2794–2798. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.10.2794. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Merrell R., Gottlieb D. I., Glaser L. Embryonal cell surface recognition. Extraction of an active plasma membrane component. J Biol Chem. 1975 Jul 25;250(14):5655–5659. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Oppenheimer S. B. Functional involvement of specific carbohydrate in teratoma cell adhesion factor. Exp Cell Res. 1975 Apr;92(1):122–126. doi: 10.1016/0014-4827(75)90644-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Roseman S. The synthesis of complex carbohydrates by multiglycosyltransferase systems and their potential function in intercellular adhesion. Chem Phys Lipids. 1970 Oct;5(1):270–297. doi: 10.1016/0009-3084(70)90024-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Roth S., McGuire E. J., Roseman S. An assay for intercellular adhesive specificity. J Cell Biol. 1971 Nov;51(21):525–535. doi: 10.1083/jcb.51.2.525. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Rutishauser U., Thiery J. P., Brackenbury R., Sela B. A., Edelman G. M. Mechanisms of adhesion among cells from neural tissues of the chick embryo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Feb;73(2):577–581. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.2.577. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. STEINBERG M. S. Reconstruction of tissues by dissociated cells. Some morphogenetic tissue movements and the sorting out of embryonic cells may have a common explanation. Science. 1963 Aug 2;141(3579):401–408. doi: 10.1126/science.141.3579.401. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Steinberg M. S. Does differential adhesion govern self-assembly processes in histogenesis? Equilibrium configurations and the emergence of a hierarchy among populations of embryonic cells. J Exp Zool. 1970 Apr;173(4):395–433. doi: 10.1002/jez.1401730406. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. TRINKAUS J. P., LENTZ J. P. DIRECT OBSERVATION OF TYPE-SPECIFIC SEGREGATION IN MIXED CELL AGGREGATES. Dev Biol. 1964 Feb;9:115–136. doi: 10.1016/0012-1606(64)90017-x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Thiery J. P., Brackenbury R., Rutishauser U., Edelman G. M. Adhesion among neural cells of the chick embryo. II. Purification and characterization of a cell adhesion molecule from neural retina. J Biol Chem. 1977 Oct 10;252(19):6841–6845. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Vogel Z., Daniels M. P., Nirenberg M. Synapse and acetylcholine receptor synthesis by neurons dissociated from retina. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1976 Jul;73(7):2370–2374. doi: 10.1073/pnas.73.7.2370. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Walther B. T., Ohman R., Roseman S. A quantitative assay for intercellular adhesion. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1973 May;70(5):1569–1573. doi: 10.1073/pnas.70.5.1569. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from The Journal of Cell Biology are provided here courtesy of The Rockefeller University Press

RESOURCES