The behaviour in vitro of epidermal cells from normal and pupoid foetus mutant mouse embryos

Pupoid foetus (pf/pf) is a recessive lethal mutation of the mouse causing epidermal hypertrophy and disorganization of peripheral sensory nerves and mesoderm. The comparative behaviour of epidermal cells from normal and pupoid foetus mutant mouse embryos was studied in vitro. Epidermal explants from the snout region of 12.5- to 13-day embryos were grown in culture for periods of up to 2 weeks. Cultures from both phenotypes were filmed using time-lapse cinemicrography for up to 3 days following explantation. Paths of individual cells were traced as they migrated from the explant, and their rate of locomotion and directional persistence were calculated. Differences in these parameters between the two phenotypes were tested statistically. The overall morphology of the cultures, and the tendency of the cells to detach from the periphery of the cell mass were also compared. The results show that, between 25 and 60 h after explantation, epidermal cells from pupoid foetus embryos move consistently more slowly than normal cells, and follow a more erratic path. This situation is reversed, however, between 16 and 25 h. This suggests that the pf mutation causes an alteration in epidermal cells that affects their locomotion, and which is maintained for a minimum of 3 days in the absence of other influencing factors.