Imaging Cell Movements in Egg-Cylinder Stage Mouse Embryos
Adapted from Imaging in Developmental Biology (ed. Sharpe and Wong). CHSL Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA, 2011 (in press).INTRODUCTION
Cell movements in the pregastrulation egg cylinder mouse embryo play an important role in patterning. The stereotypic movement of the anterior visceral endoderm converts a proximal-distal axis to an anteroposterior axis by properly positioning the primitive streak. The epiblast at this stage is also characterized by a great deal of cell mixing, about which very little is known. Visualizing such cell movements can help us understand their role in embryonic development. This protocol describes a method to isolate and culture the egg cylinder-stage mouse embryo, as well as an approach for time-lapse imaging of embryos cultured in vivo.
