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A morphological and immunohistochemical study of programmed cell death in Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata, Ascidiacea)

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Abstract

The blastogenic cycle of the colonial ascidian Botryllus schlosseri concludes in a phase of selective cell and zooid death called takeover. Every week, all asexually derived parental zooids synchronously regress over a 30-h period and are replaced by a new generation. Here we document the sequential ultrastructural changes which accompany cell death during zooid degeneration. The principal mode of visceral cell death during takeover occurred by apoptosis, the majority of cells condensing and fragmenting into multiple membrane-bounded apoptotic bodies. Cytoplasmic organelles (mitochondria, basal bodies, striated rootlets) within apoptotic bodies retained ultrastructural integrity. Dying cells and fragments were then swiftly ingested by specialized blood macrophages or intraepithelial phagocytes and subsequently underwent secondary necrotic lysis. Certain organs (stomach, intestine) displayed a combination of necrotic and apoptotic changes. Lastly, the stomach, which demonstrated some of the earliest regressive changes, exhibited intense cytoplasmic immunostaining with a monoclonal antibody to ubiquitin at the onset of takeover. Affinity-purified rabbit antiserum against sodium dodecyl sulfate-denatured ubiquitin detected a characteristic 8.6-kDa mono-ubiquitin band by Western blot analysis. Collectively, these findings raise the possibility that cell death during takeover is a dynamic process which requires active participation of cells in their own destruction.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Avenue, 12208, Albany, NY, USA

    Robert J. Lauzon

  2. Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics, Albany Medical College, 47 New Scotland Avenue, 12208, Albany, NY, USA

    Robert J. Lauzon

  3. Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, Oceanview Boulevard, 93950, Pacific Grove, CA, USA

    Chris W. Patton

  4. Department of Pathology and Developmental Biology, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Beckman Research Center, Stanford University Medical Center, 94305, Stanford, CA, USA

    Irving L. Weissman

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  1. Robert J. Lauzon
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  2. Chris W. Patton
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  3. Irving L. Weissman
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Lauzon, R.J., Patton, C.W. & Weissman, I.L. A morphological and immunohistochemical study of programmed cell death in Botryllus schlosseri (Tunicata, Ascidiacea). Cell Tissue Res 272, 115–127 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323577

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00323577

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