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Attraction of spermatozoa by way of chemotaxis to substances secreted from the egg or its surrounding cells has been demonstrated in marine species, amphibians, and mammals. This process is species- or family-specific in marine invertebrates: a chemoattractant for one marine species is usually not recognized by another species or by a member of another family. It is not known whether this selectivity is also the rule in other phyla. Furthermore, it is not at all obvious that such selectivity would be advantageous to species with internal fertilization. Here, using a directionality-based assay for chemotaxis, we studied in vitro the chemotactic response of human and rabbit spermatozoa to human, rabbit, and bovine egg-related factors. We found that spermatozoa from each of the two sources responded similarly well to egg-related factors obtained from any of the three species examined. These results indicate lack of chemotaxis-related, species specificity between these species, suggesting that their sperm chemoattractants are common or very similar. The findings further suggest that mammals do not rely on species specificity of sperm chemotaxis for avoidance of interspecies fertilization.

Precontact communication between gametes is established by chemotaxis. Sperm chemotaxis toward factor(s) in follicular fluid (FF) has been demonstrated in humans and mice. In humans, the chemotactic responsiveness is restricted to capacitated spermatozoa. Here, we investigated whether sperm chemotaxis to factor(s) present in FF also occurs in rabbits and, if so, whether only capacitated spermatozoa are chemotactically responsive. Chemotaxis assays were performed by videomicroscopy in a Zigmond chamber. We measured chemotactic responsiveness as a function of FF dilution by means of a novel directionality-based method that considers the ratio between the distances traveled by the spermatozoa both parallel to the chemoattractant gradient and perpendicular to it. A peak of maximal response was observed at 10(-4) dilution of FF, resulting in a typical chemotactic concentration-dependent curve in which 23% of the spermatozoa were chemotactically responsive. In contrast, the percentage of cells exhibiting FF-dependent enhanced speed of swimming increased with the FF concentration, whereas the percentage of cells maintaining linear motility decreased with the FF concentration. The percentages of chemotactically responsive cells were very similar to those of capacitated spermatozoa. Depletion of the latter by stimulation of the acrosome reaction resulted in a total loss of the chemotactic response, whereas the reappearance of capacitated cells resulted in a recovery of chemotactic responsiveness. We conclude that rabbit spermatozoa, like human spermatozoa, are chemotactically responsive to FF factor(s) and acquire this responsiveness as part of the capacitation process.

The dynamic parameters of mouse sperm cells exposed to follicular and oviductal fluids were assessed. Spermatozoa were tracked on a chemotactic Zigmond chamber and recorded using a videomicroscopy system. The results were evaluated with computer-supported image analysis. Follicular fluid at a dilution of 10(-4) markedly increased the proportion of spermatozoa with high velocity, and stimulated chemotactic behaviour. The highest velocities were observed in sperm cells exposed to oviductal fluid, and a greater proportion of these cells had high velocity compared with those exposed to follicular fluid. Chemotaxis was induced in spermatozoa exposed to oviductal fluid at dilutions of 10(-3) and 10(-5). These results suggest the presence of temporal subpopulations of responsive spermatozoa, considering the distance travelled towards both follicular and oviductal fluids and the proportion of sperm cells migrating towards the gradient in the highest distance ranges. This is the first report on the effect of isolated follicular and oviductal fluids on dynamic parameters and chemotaxis of mouse spermatozoa. The findings support previous work showing that the motility and directionality of mouse sperm cells is increased by factors in the microenvironment of the egg. Although the significance of these factors in vivo is unknown, it is possible that there is a relay mechanism involving sequential activity of both oviductal and follicular fluids to direct the male gametes towards the egg.

We have previously demonstrated that directional migration of neural crest cells (NCC) is associated with a high cell density, resulting from an active cell proliferation. It is also known that treatment with retinoic acid (RA) causes a dose-dependent inhibition of proliferation of some cell types, and that administration of RA during the early stages of embryonic development, induces cranio-facial abnormal patterns corresponding to NCC derivatives. In view of these findings, it was of interest to determine if exogenous RA is a potential modulator of the mitotic rate of NCC, and to explore the hypothesis of an inhibitory effect exerted by RA on the proliferative behaviour of NCC in vivo and in vitro. Homogenates of RA-treated chick embryos showed a low [3H]dT incorporation, indicating a generalized diminution of DNA synthesis. The labelling index (LI = number of labelled cells/total number of cells) revealed that NCC from RA-treated and control embryos had higher values of [3H]dT incorporation than neural tube cells (P < 0.0001). Autoradiographs of RA-treated chick embryos showed a significantly lower [3H]dT incorporation in NCC at the prosencephalic and mesencephalic levels, as well as in the neural tube cells at the prosencephalic, mesencephalic and rhombencephalic levels, than in control chick embryos (P < 0.0001). NCC cultures treated with 1 or 10 microM RA had a significantly lower LI than in cultures treated with 0.1 microM RA or control cultures (P < 0.04). In chick embryos, the mitotic index of NCC was 0.026 for RA-treated and 0.033 for controls, while the duration of the cell cycle was significantly longer in the NCC of RA-treated embryos (approximately 40 h) than in controls (approximately 25 h). The length of the cell cycle phases of NCC was similar in both experimental conditions, except for G1 phase, which was significantly longer in the RA-treated group than in controls. These results show that RA blocks DNA synthesis and lengthens the proliferative behaviour of NCC both in early chick embryos and in vitro, effects that could modify the morphogenetic patterns of NCC distribution through a decreased cell population.

The chemotactic response of neoplastic cells (NC) induced by soluble platelet factors was investigated. NC suspensions isolated from murine mammary gland adenocarcinomas having different metastatic capabilities were incubated in Boyden's chambers and challenged with (1) 'Early Platelet Factors' (EP), obtained from the soluble fraction of recently collagen-activated human platelets, and (2) 'Late Platelet Factors' (LP), isolated after 24 hours incubation of the platelet aggregates. Chemotaxis was expressed as the distance travelled by NC through nitrocellulose filters. NC isolated from M3, the tumour line having the stronger metastatic potential, showed a significant chemotactic response towards LP factors, whereas NC from the M2 line exhibiting the lower metastatic behaviour, showed a chemotactic response towards EP factors. Both tumour cell lines lacked motion capability towards the well known chemoattractant peptide N-f-Met-Leu-Phe-Phe as well as to serum, plasma, collagen type I or culture medium. The different chemotactic response of both tumour lines when they were challenged by concentration gradients of factors released by early or late collagen-activated human platelets, confirm a relationship between platelet activity and metastatic capabilities and suggests that platelet chemoattractants might play a role in the metastatic dissemination of these mammary gland adenocarcinomas.

Cells of the neural crest participate in a major class of cell migratory events during embryonic development. From indirect evidence, it has been suggested that fibronectin (FN) might be involved in these events. We have directly tested the role of FN in neural crest cell adhesion and migration using several in vitro model systems. Avian trunk neural crest cells adhered readily to purified plasma FN substrates and to extracellular matrices containing cellular FN. Their adhesion was inhibited by antibodies to a cell-binding fragment of FN. In contrast, these cells did not adhere to glass, type I collagen, or to bovine serum albumin in the absence of FN. Neural crest cell adhesion to laminin (LN) was significantly less than to FN; however, culturing of crest cells under conditions producing an epithelioid phenotype resulted in cells that could bind equally as well to LN as to FN. The migration of neural crest cells appeared to depend on both the substrate and the extent of cell interactions. Cells migrated substantially more rapidly on FN than on LN or type I collagen substrates; if provided a choice between stripes of FN and glass or LN, cells migrated preferentially on the FN. Migration was inhibited by antibodies against the cell-binding region of FN, and the inhibition could be reversed by a subsequent addition of exogenous FN. However, the migration on FN was random and displayed little persistence of direction unless cells were at high densities that permitted frequent contacts. The in vitro rate of migration of cells on FN-containing matrices was 50 microns/h, similar to their migration rates along the narrow regions of FN-containing extracellular matrix in migratory pathways in vivo. These results indicate that FN is important for neural crest cell adhesion and migration and that the high cell densities of neural crest cells in the transient, narrow migratory pathways found in the embryo are necessary for effective directional migration.

Chick embryos injected with lambda-carrageenan prior to incubation and studied with light microscopy at 48 hours of development presented various anomalies. Lack of closure at different levels of the neural tube was one of the lesions most frequently seen. Rachischisis and craniorachischisis were commonly associated with various degrees of hyperplasia of the neural tube wall. Diverse patterns of neural hyperplasia ranged from total occlusion of the neural tube to localized thickening of lateral walls leading to a typical "hourglass" appearance of the ependymal lumen. Multiple septa and cavitations of the neural tube lumen were also recorded. Cephalic and/or trunk duplication of the body as well as disorganization of notochord and somites were frequently associated with rachischisis and areas of necrosis or pyknosis of neural tissue. Neural crest cells, which are normally present in paraneural areas at the stages studied, were not encountered in the carrageenan-injected embryos. These areas were frequently occupied by hyperplastic ectodermic folds. Similarity of present findings on carrageenan-treated embryos with the anomalies induced by selective destruction or impairment of migration of neural crest cells suggests that involvement of this cell population may have a role in the causation of the anomalies observed.