Differential concanavalin A-induced agglutination of eight-cell preimplantation mouse embryos before and after compaction.

Eight-cell mouse embryos undergo a morphogenetically significant process termed compaction during which blastomeres flatten against one another maximizing their areas of cell-cell contact. Data presented here show striking differences (P less than 0.01) in Con A-induced agglutination between groups of uncompacted and compacted embryos suggesting that the compaction process is accompanied by changes in blastomere surface properties.