The Development and Position of Pigment and Blastocoelar Immune Cells in the Strongylocentrotus purpuratus Sea Urchin

This illustration depicts two types of immune cells found within the sea urchin S. purpuratus that share similar features to particularly important cells in human immunity — pigment cells and blastocoelar cells. The figure describes the developmental stages of the sea urchin along with corresponding cell signaling events, beginning at the early blastula stage. Such events lead to the eventual differentiation of pigment and blastocoelar immune cells; the relative position of these derivatives within the blastocoelar space of the pluteus-stage sea urchin is depicted in the blown-up inset.

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Supervisors: Prof. L. Wilson-Pauwels, University of Toronto; Dr. J. Rast, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre

 

Artwork © Christy Groves, 2013.