Development Flashcards
Human Developmental Stages
Zygote-> Morula-> Blastocyst-> Gastrulation-> Embryo-> Fetus-> Adult-> gametes*
Zygote
fertilized egg
1 - 8 cell stage
totipotent; removal of 1 or 2 cells at 8 cell stage still results in an entire organism
Morula
16 – early 32 cells; stage before fluid filled cavity forms, inner 8 cells are pluripotent
Blastocyst
early embryo with fluid filled cavity that forms at the 32-cell stage
Inner cell mass (ICM)
pluripotent; source of embryonic stem cells
Trophoblast
forms the embryonic portion of the placenta
Gastrulation
first massive cell movements
Germ Layers
endoderm, mesoderm and ectoderm
Embryo
week 1-8; cell division, cell migration and organ development
Fetus
9 weeks until birth; size increase & organ refinement
Stages of Commitment to Cell Fate
- Specification – fate is still reversible 2. Determination – fate is no longer reversible 3. Differentiation – overt changes in structure & function – looks like muscle & produces structural proteins necessary for function, e.g. muscle
Specification (vs. Determined)
if development proceeds normally, it will become the fate that tissue of the embryo normally becomes; if the environment changes, the cell fate can still be changed
Determined (vs. Specification)
the cell has activated transcription of the genes necessary for a particular fate; the cell will no longer change its fate regardless of the signals received from the environment
Three levels of transcriptional regulation:
- TFs 2. Histone Modifications 3. DNA methylation
TFs in the ICM vs Trophoblast
• Oct4 and Cdx2 are both on in all cells of the 8-cell stage • At the 16 cell stage, the 8 inner cells express Oct4 and the 8 outer cells express cdx2 • Oct4 and Cdx2 repress each other at the level of transcription • Oct4 maintains proliferation and inhibits differentiation in the inner cell mass (ICM)