[Specific and nonspecific adhesion in the process of retinal cellular aggregation in chick embryos]

A study of aggregation of the retinal cells of 8 and 14 day old chick embryos has revealed two phases in this process. The first phase includes the decrease in the concentration of single cells and the increase in the concentration of aggregates. During the second phase the concentration of aggregates falls at the expense of fusion of smaller aggregates into larger ones. The rate of aggregation at both these phases increases with the initial density of cells and decreases with the age of donor embryos and at a suboptimal temperature of cultivation. Aggregation during the first phase does not depend on the presence in the culture medium of divalent cations and colchicine, the level of protein and RNA synthesis in the cells, whereas aggregation during the second phase depends on all these factors. Comparison of these results with the published data suggests that the retinal cell aggregation during the second phase, unlike the first one, is based on the specific adhesiveness of the cells, which is realized via adhesion molecules resynthesized at the cell surface.