Comparative analysis of behavior and proliferative activity in culture of cells of coelomic fluid and of cells of various tissues of the sea star Asterias rubens L. Isolated from normal and injured animals

The sources of coelomocytes in Asteroidea are suggested to be the coelomic epithelium, the axial organ, or Tiedemann’s bodies. To study the problem of whether the cells are replenished at the expense of divisions, we analyzed the incorporation of bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) in vivo into cells from different tissues of the sea star Asterias rubens L. To study differentiation in vitro, methods of isolating and cultivating cells from various tissues were elaborated and an analysis of the behavior and incorporation of BrdU in culture was performed. The reproduced BrdU incorporation was detected in coelomic epithelial cells. The behavior of coelomocytes and the coelomic epithelial cells in culture depended on the time after the injury of the animals in which the cells were isolated, whereas, for the axial organ and Tiedemann’s bodies, no differences were revealed. After 2 months of cultivation, the formation of BrdU-incorporating, colony-like cells with high nuclear-cytoplasmic ratios was characteristic of coelomic epithelial cells. Thus, the most prospective object for studying the processes of A. rubens cell differentiation in vitro seems to be the coelomic epithelium.