Dissociated cell suspensions ofCarcinus maenas Y-organs as a tool to study ecdysteroid production and its regulation

• DOI: 10.1007/bf01984955
• Publication Date: 2005-08-04T03:08:25Z
• Authors: J. Y. Toullec; C. Dauphin-Villemant
• Keywords: 0303 health sciences; 03 medical and health sciences

In vitro ecdysteroid production by dissociated Y-organ cells of the shore crabCarcinus maenas was characterized during short-term incubations. Under optimized conditions (M199 adjusted to crab osmolality and with the addition of 10% foetal calf serum), ecdysteroid production by dispersed cells increased linearly during 4-hour incubations, with little intra-assay variation. 25-deoxyecdysone was mainly produced. PurifiedCarcinus molt inhbiting hormone (CamMIH) produced a dose-dependent inhibition of ecdysteroid production by dispersed cells. The cells were about 50 times more sensitive than whole glands to MIH. Other structurally-related peptides were tested.