Cell-cell contact modulation of myosin organization in the early mouse embryo.

Preimplantation mouse embryos are characterized by a polarized distribution of cortical myosin (J. S. Sobel (1983). Dev. Biol. 95, 227-231.). Myosin was present in the peripheral regions of the blastomers and was not detectable in regions of cell contact. Disaggregation of the embryos yielded blastomeres which had a continuous layer of cortical myosin. Development of new contact relations in aggregates, between daughter cells of divided blastomeres, and in chimaeras resulted in renewed polarization of cortical myosin. The results indicate that continuous cell contact interaction modulates the distribution of myosin throughout the preimplantation stages of development. The loss of detectable myosin from regions of cell contact was correlated with development of cell contacts that remained stable after Triton X-100 extraction.