Biomaterial Database

Differentiation of primary embryonic neuroblasts in purified neural cell cultures from Drosophila. 1985

A Furst, and A P Mahowald

Embryonic neuroblasts of Drosophila are undifferentiated precursor cells that give rise to the central nervous system. Centrifugal elutriation has been employed to fractionate embryonic cells on the basis of size. A fraction of large cells was found to be greatly enriched for neuroblasts, whereas mesodermal precursor cells were completely excluded. This allowed a second step of purification, based upon adhesion to glass, to provide virtually pure cultures of neural cells. The cells in these cultures had the properties of neurons of the Drosophila CNS: They gave rise to ganglion-like clusters from which neurites extended on the culture substrate, and they expressed the enzyme, acetylcholinesterase, and the cell surface antigens recognized by antisera raised against horseradish peroxidase. The production of large-scale neuronal cell cultures will be useful for immunological and molecular studies of neural cell differentiation.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D009420	Nervous System	The entire nerve apparatus, composed of a central part, the brain and spinal cord, and a peripheral part, the cranial and spinal nerves, autonomic ganglia, and plexuses. (Stedman, 26th ed)	Nervous Systems,System, Nervous,Systems, Nervous
D002448	Cell Adhesion	Adherence of cells to surfaces or to other cells.	Adhesion, Cell,Adhesions, Cell,Cell Adhesions
D002454	Cell Differentiation	Progressive restriction of the developmental potential and increasing specialization of function that leads to the formation of specialized cells, tissues, and organs.	Differentiation, Cell,Cell Differentiations,Differentiations, Cell
D002458	Cell Fractionation	Techniques to partition various components of the cell into SUBCELLULAR FRACTIONS.	Cell Fractionations,Fractionation, Cell,Fractionations, Cell
D002477	Cells	The fundamental, structural, and functional units or subunits of living organisms. They are composed of CYTOPLASM containing various ORGANELLES and a CELL MEMBRANE boundary.	Cell
D002478	Cells, Cultured	Cells propagated in vitro in special media conducive to their growth. Cultured cells are used to study developmental, morphologic, metabolic, physiologic, and genetic processes, among others.	Cultured Cells,Cell, Cultured,Cultured Cell
D003584	Cytological Techniques	Methods used to study CELLS.	Cytologic Technics,Cytological Technic,Cytological Technics,Cytological Technique,Technic, Cytological,Technics, Cytological,Technique, Cytological,Techniques, Cytological,Cytologic Technic,Technic, Cytologic,Technics, Cytologic
D004330	Drosophila	A genus of small, two-winged flies containing approximately 900 described species. These organisms are the most extensively studied of all genera from the standpoint of genetics and cytology.	Fruit Fly, Drosophila,Drosophila Fruit Flies,Drosophila Fruit Fly,Drosophilas,Flies, Drosophila Fruit,Fly, Drosophila Fruit,Fruit Flies, Drosophila
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia