CRABP-I Expression Patterns in the Developing Chick Inner Ear

The vertebrate inner ear is a complex three-dimensional sensorial structure with auditory and vestibular functions, regarded as an excellent system for analyzing events that occur during development, such as patterning, morphogenesis, and cell specification. Retinoic acid (RA) is involved in all these development processes. Cellular retinoic acid-binding proteins (CRABPs) bind RA with high affinity, buffering cellular free RA concentrations and consequently regulating the activation of precise specification programs mediated by particular regulatory genes. In the otic vesicle, strong CRABP-I expression was detected in the otic wall's dorsomedial aspect, where the endolymphatic apparatus develops, whereas this expression was lower in the ventrolateral aspect, where part of the auditory system forms. Thus, CRABP-I proteins may play a role in the specification of the dorsal-to-ventral and lateral-to-medial axe of the otic anlagen. Regarding the developing sensory patches, a process partly involving the subdivision of a ventromedial pro-sensory domain, the CRABP-I gene displayed different levels of expression in the presumptive territory of each sensory patch, which was maintained throughout development. CRABP-I was also relevant in the acoustic-vestibular ganglion and in the periotic mesenchyme. Therefore, CRABP-I could protect RA-sensitive cells in accordance with its dissimilar concentration in specific areas of the developing chick inner ear.

Expression patterns of Irx genes in the developing chick inner ear

The vertebrate inner ear is a complex three-dimensional sensorial structure with auditory and vestibular functions. The molecular patterning of the developing otic epithelium creates various positional identities, consequently leading to the stereotyped specification of each neurosensory and non-sensory element of the membranous labyrinth. The Iroquois (Iro/Irx) genes, clustered in two groups (A: Irx1, Irx2, and Irx4; and B: Irx3, Irx5, and Irx6), encode for transcriptional factors involved directly in numerous patterning processes of embryonic tissues in many phyla. This work presents a detailed study of the expression patterns of these six Irx genes during chick inner ear development, paying particular attention to the axial specification of the otic anlagen. The Irx genes seem to play different roles at different embryonic periods. At the otic vesicle stage (HH18), all the genes of each cluster are expressed identically. Both clusters A and B seem involved in the specification of the lateral and posterior portions of the otic anlagen. Cluster B seems to regulate a larger area than cluster A, including the presumptive territory of the endolymphatic apparatus. Both clusters seem also to be involved in neurogenic events. At stages HH24/25-HH27, combinations of IrxA and IrxB genes participate in the specification of most sensory patches and some non-sensory components of the otic epithelium. At stage HH34, the six Irx genes show divergent patterns of expression, leading to the final specification of the membranous labyrinth, as well as to cell differentiation.

Meis gene expression patterns in the developing chicken inner ear

We are interested in stable gene network activities operating sequentially during inner ear specification. The implementation of this patterning process is a key event in the generation of functional subdivisions of the otic vesicle during early embryonic development. The vertebrate inner ear is a complex sensory structure that is a good model system for characterization of developmental mechanisms controlling patterning and specification. Meis genes, belonging to the TALE family, encode homodomain-containing transcription factors remarkably conserved during evolution, which play a role in normal and neoplastic development. To gain understanding of the possible role of homeobox Meis genes in the developing chick inner ear, we comprehensively analyzed their spatiotemporal expression patterns from early otic specification stages onwards. In the invaginating otic placode, Meis1/2 transcripts were observed in the borders of the otic cup, being absent in the portion of otic epithelium closest to the hindbrain. As development proceeds, Meis1 and Meis2 expressions became restricted to the dorsomedial otic epithelium. Both genes were strongly expressed in the entire presumptive domain of the semicircular canals, and more weakly in all associated cristae. The endolymphatic apparatus was labeled in part by Meis1/2. Meis1 was also expressed in the lateral wall of the growing cochlear duct, while Meis2 expression was detected in a few cells of the developing acoustic-vestibular ganglion. Our results suggest a possible role of Meis assigning regional identity in the morphogenesis, patterning, and specification of the developing inner ear.

Incipient forebrain boundaries traced by differential gene expression and fate mapping in the chick neural plate

We correlated available fate maps for the avian neural plate at stages HH4 and HH8 with the progress of local molecular specification, aiming to determine when the molecular specification maps of the primary longitudinal and transversal domains of the anterior forebrain agree with the fate mapped data. To this end, we examined selected gene expression patterns as they normally evolved in whole mounts and sections between HH4 and HH8 (or HH10/11 in some cases), performed novel fate-mapping experiments within the anterior forebrain at HH4 and examined the results at HH8, and correlated grafts with expression of selected gene markers. The data provided new details to the HH4 fate map, and disclosed some genes (e.g., Six3 and Ganf) whose expression domains initially are very extensive and subsequently retract rostralwards. Apart from anteroposterior dynamics, some genes soon became downregulated at the prospective forebrain floor plate, or allowed to identify an early roof plate domain (dorsoventral pattern). Peculiarities of the telencephalon (initial specification and differentiation of pallium versus subpallium) are contemplated. The basic anterior forebrain subdivisions seem to acquire correlated specification and fate mapping patterns around stage HH8.

Quantitative analysis of neural plate thickness and cell density during gastrulation in the chick embryo

We quantitatively analyzed the developing prospective neural and non-neural ectoderm during chicken gastrulation on semithin transverse sections. At stage PS8 (primitive streak stage 8 of Lopez-Sanchez et al. [C. Lopez-Sanchez, L. Puelles, V. Garcia-Martinez, L. Rodriguez-Gallardo, Morphological and molecular analysis of the early developing chick requires an expanded series of primitive streak stages, J. Morphol. 264 (2005) 105-116.], equivalent to stage HH4), the thickest area of the ectoderm agrees in extent with the fate-mapped neural plate we had reported previously. The thickness of the median ectoderm is constantly higher up to a distance of 250mum from Hensen's node, and thickness decreases along a mediolateral gradient with a further drop at the prospective lateral border of the neural plate. A higher cell density of the developing ectoderm also coincided with the prospective neural plate. We observed that cell death does not play an important role in the spatial definition of the neural plate.

Correlation of a chicken stage 4 neural plate fate map with early gene expression patterns

A number of gene markers are currently claimed to allow positive or negative visualization of the early chick neural plate at stages 3d/4, when its fate becomes determined. Some markers labeled by various authors as either "neural" or "non-neural" indeed show ectodermal expression patterns roughly correlative with widespread yet vague ideas on the shape and size of the early neural plate, based on previous fate maps. However, for technical reasons, it is not clear how precisely these expression patterns correlate with any experimentally determined fate boundaries. An eventual mismatch between fate and marker interpretation might bear importantly on ideas about gene functions and causal hypotheses in issues such as the establishment of the neural/non-neural border or the earliest mechanisms of neural regionalization. In this review, we correlated a set of epiblastic and mesendodermal gene expression patterns with the novel neuroectoderm proportions suggested by our recent fate map of the chick neural plate at stages HH 3d/4 [P. Fernández-Garre, L. Rodriguez-Gallardo, V. Gallego-Diaz, I.S. Alvarez, L. Puelles, Fate map of the chicken neural plate at stage 4, Development 129 (2002) 2807-2822.]. This analysis suggests the existence of various nested subregions of the epiblast with boundaries codefined by given sets of gene patterns. No gene expression studied reproduces exactly or even approximately the entire neural plate shape, leading to a combinatorial hypothesis on its specification. This kind of analysis (fate and molecular maps), jointly with competence maps, provides the basis for understanding gene functions and the mechanisms of neural induction, specification and regionalization. Several gene patterns observed are consistent with precocious incipient regionalization of the neural plate along the dorsoventral and anteroposterior axes.

Macrophages during retina and optic nerve development in the mouse embryo: relationship to cell death and optic fibres

We compared the spatial and temporal patterns of distribution of macrophages, with patterns of naturally occurring cell death and optic fibre growth during early retina and optic nerve development, in the mouse. We used embryos between day 10 of embryogenesis (E10; before the first optic fibres are generated in the retina) and E13 (when the first optic fibres have crossed the chiasmatic anlage). The macrophages and optic axons were identified by immunocytochemistry, and the apoptotic cells were detected by the TUNEL technique, which specifically labels fragmented DNA. Cell death was observed in the retina and the optic stalk long before the first optic axons appeared in either region. Subsequently, specialized F4/80-positive phagocytes were detected in chronological and topographical coincidence with cell death, which disappeared progressively. As development proceeded, the pioneer ganglion cell axons reached the regions where the macrophages were located. As the number of optic fibres increased, the macrophages disappeared. Therefore, cell death, accompanied by macrophages, preceded the growth of fibres in the retina and the optic nerve. Moreover, these macrophages synthesized NGF and the optic axons were p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75(NTR))- and TrkA-positive. These findings suggest that macrophages may be involved in optic axon guidance and fasciculation.

Agreement and disagreement among fate maps of the chick neural plate

Fate maps are essential to understand embryonic development; they provide a background for deducing maps of differential cellular specification in the context of other experimental data and molecular expression patterns. Due to its accessibility, the chick neural plate has been fate-mapped many times, albeit without complete agreement with respect to its shape, extent and fated subdivisions. In this review, we first comment about avian neural plate fate maps reported since the early period of experimental embryology, referring to the different methods followed. We next review a perfected fate-mapping methodology, which recently allowed us rather precise delimitation of the chick neural plate at stages 3d/4. This leads to a general discussion about the apparent border of the neural plate and the prospective main rostrocaudal and longitudinal divisions of the neural tube.

A neural plate fate map at stage HH4 in the chick: methodology and preliminary data

This paper centers on the design of a perfected methodology for establishing a fate map of the chick neural plate at stages 3d/4, projected upon the closing neural tube (stages 9-11). The principal aim was to saturate the area of interest with overlapping small isochronic and homotopic grafts (100-300 cells), in order to later derive firmer conclusions from the detailed comparisons thus made possible. We used an ocular grid centered on Hensen's node for the localization of the grafts. Chick embryos in New culture were used as donors and hosts, to evade potential differences in intercalation or proliferation behavior between quail and chick cells. Donor tissue was labelled with the non-diffusing fluorescein derivative carboxyfluorescein diacetate succinimidyl ester, later visualized by fluorescence microscopy at various timepoints during survival and by a sensitive whole-mount immunocytochemical protocol after fixation. We present only preliminary data of the ongoing mapping, illustrating well-delimited patches of graft-derived cells which can be identified across the neural/non-neural epiblast continuum, or across the dorsoventral dimension of the neural tube wall.

Monoclonal antibody GL1 and its possible involvement in the morphogenesis of the otic vesicle

In a previous study, a monoclonal antibody (MAB) named GL1 was identified that is expressed in a precise pattern during gastrulation and early neurulation stages in chick embryos. In this article we have further investigated the expression pattern of this MAB in the chick embryo. GL1 antigen is present in several organs that seem not to be related developmentally. Among them, GL1 is present during the early steps of the otic placode formation, in the pharyngeal endoderm, in some neural crest cells, in the somites, and in the ventricular surface of the nervous system. The distribution in the nervous system is well patterned with two broad lines of expression in the ventricular side of the metencephalic region, a unique and centered expression in the border between the metencephalon and the myelencephalon and again in two lines running along the myelencephalon and the rostral spinal cord. Additionally, GL1 can be induced by members of the FGF family, and we have used this system to elucidate its role in otic placode formation. The results obtained reveal that GL1 can be a useful marker for the study of developmental processes in the endoderm, the otic anlage, and the apical surface of the nervous system. Biochemical analysis of the antigen recognized by this MAB must be carried out to elucidate the molecular nature of the antigen.

Targeted over-expression of FGF in chick embryos induces formation of ectopic neural cells

Fibroblast growth factors (FGFs) are known to be involved mainly in mesoderm formation in Xenopus embryos but their participation in other inductive mechanisms such as neural induction has not been clearly established and is now under study. Here, we provide evidence that targeted over-expression of members of this family of growth factors in the periphery of full-length primitive streak chick embryos produces the formation of ectopic neural cells that are able to differentiate into neurons. The supernumerary neural plate obtained derives from the epiblast layer of the blastoderm and show signs of neural differentiation 24 h after the application of FGF. We have used cell labeling and have examined the expression of mesodermal markers to ascertain how this expansion of the neural forming region of the epiblast takes place. We conclude that the new neural cells formed are originated in the region of the epiblast fated to be epithelia and that the induction of the ectopic neural tissue is not mediated by an increase, migration or new formation of axial mesoderm. This strongly suggests that FGF is acting directly on epiblast cells, changing their fate from epidermal ectoderm to neural ectoderm. Therefore, our results show that FGF can induce neural ectoderm when acting on still uncommitted cells and, therefore, it is a putative candidate for acting in normal neural induction during development.

Cell proliferation during early development of the chick embryo otic anlage: quantitative comparison of migratory and nonmigratory regions of the otic epithelium

During development of the otic anlage, a certain proportion of epithelial cells migrate toward the mesenchymal compartment to form part of the acoustic-vestibular ganglion. The migrating cells are observed only in the zone of the otic anlage that will make contact with the acoustic-vestibular ganglion (so-called ganglion zone). In Hamburger and Hamilton's stages 13 to 16, the number of epithelial cells that migrate is relatively low, but it becomes steadily higher from stage 17 on. In the otic anlage of chick embryos, between developmental stages 9 and 21 (48 to 94 hours of incubation), mitotic index, apical or basal localization within the epithelium of dividing cells, and orientation of the mitotic spindles were analyzed. These features in the ganglion zone were compared with observations in the rest of the otic epithelium, where migratory processes do not take place. In stages 13 to 15, when few epithelial cells are migrating, the mitotic index (MI) in the ganglion zone of the otic anlage is similar to that in nonmigratory regions. In more advanced stages, however, when cell migration becomes accelerated, the MI in the migratory zone of the otic wall is significantly higher than that in the rest of the otic epithelium. This suggests an intimate relationship between the migration of otic epithelial cells and a high rate of cell proliferation, the possible nature of which is discussed. Although the majority of mitoses in the otic anlage are located at the apical surface of the epithelium, from stage 13 onward, a few dividing cells are seen in the basal third of the epithelium. Furthermore, these basal mitoses appear exclusively in the migratory zone of the otic anlage, thus suggesting a possible relationship between epithelial cell migration and basal mitosis. During the developmental period prior to stage 18, no significant differences in mitotic spindle orientation are noted between migratory and nonmigratory zones of the otic anlage. In contrast, in stages of maximal otic epithelial cell migration (stages 19 to 21), the frequency of mitoses with the spindle axis oriented radially is significantly higher in the migratory zone. These findings point toward a close correlation between increased frequency of radial mitotic spindle orientation and intense cell migration, although the exact nature of this relationship is as yet unknown.

Quantitative studies of mitotic cells in the chick embryo optic stalk during the early period of invasion by optic fibres

In addition to mitoses of neuroepithelial cells at the ventricular surface of the chick embryo optic stalk, mitoses in nonventricular stalk zones begin to be observed from stage 19 on. These latter represent the division phase of glioblasts detached from the ventricular surface. Thus, the topographical location of mitotic cells could be considered a morphological marker of neuroepithelial and glioblast populations in the optic stalk. Quantitative analysis of ventricular (VMCs) and extraventricular (EMCs) mitotic cells revealed that the total number of VMCs decreases through the developmental stages studied, while the number of EMCs simultaneously increases exponentially. These results suggest that the glioblast population arises from both division of the early glioblasts and progressive transformation of neuroepithelial cells. The first EMCs in the ventral region of the stalk wall are observed in stage 19, previous to the stages in which the first EMCs appear in the dorsal region. Moreover, EMCs are much more numerous in the ventral than in the dorsal stalk wall in all stages analysed. Keeping in mind that the invasion of the stalk by optic fibre fascicles occurs essentially in the ventral region, these results suggest that EMCs are strongly related to axon fascicle outgrowth in the stalk. Cell division features are different in neuroepithelial cell and glioblast populations, as the proportions of the mitotic phases differ in VMCs and EMCs. In addition, the patterns of mitotic spindle orientation in VMCs and EMCs are also different. In the former, orientations are predominantly longitudinal parallel and transverse parallel, with a smaller proportion of radial mitoses, which are slightly more frequent through stages 23 to 28 than in earlier development.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cell death in suboptic necrotic centers of chick embryo diencephalon and their topographic relationship with the earliest optic fiber fascicles

The structural features of suboptic necrotic centers (SONCs) in the floor of the chick embryo diencephalon were studied. These necrotic areas were observed lateral to the prospective zone of the optic chiasm through developmental stages 14 to 24. The relationship between SONCs and the earliest optic fiber fascicles also was studied in an attempt to determine the possible significance of these cell death areas in the mechanism of optic pathway development. In SONCs, healthy neuroepithelial cells contain primary lysosomes and phagocytose fragments of dead cells. Discrete regions within the cytoplasm of some cells show electron-transparent vacuoles in contact with dense contents of ruptured lytic bodies. The cytoplasm of dying cells and dead cell fragments are notably electron dense, with numerous secondary lysosomes and electron-transparent vacuoles. These observations are interpreted on the assumption that after autophagic processes, condensation and fragmentation take place in dying cells of the SONCs. In the ventricular lumen adjacent to the SONCs, numerous more or less spherical bodies are observed that appear to be shed from the tip of the cells constituting the SONCs. Three different types of intraventricular bodies can be distinguished: loose, moderately dense, and highly dense. The first type appears to originate from apical portions of cells that undergo autolytic processes. Moderately dense fragments are interpreted as originating from dying cells in which the cytoplasm is undergoing condensation. Finally, highly dense intraventricular bodies appear to be fragments of dead cells that are shed into the ventricular lumen. SONCs separate the prospective area of the optic chiasm from lateral regions of the diencephalic floor. Extracellular spaces are poorly developed within the wall of the SONCs, whereas the neuroepithelium of the presumptive optic chiasm and regions located rostral and caudal to SONCs show abundant and extensive extracellular spaces. These are bounded by long marginal processes of neuroepithelial cells. Sagittal sections of embryonic heads at stages 22-24 reveal optic fiber fascicles penetrating the SONCs asymmetrically, as they are found only in its caudal half. These observations suggest that the SONCs function as doorways made of compact neuroepithelium, to be traversed by the earliest optic fibers before they reach the middle zone of the floor of the diencephalon through which they travel to the contralateral optic tract within large extracellular spaces.

Cell death in the ventral region of the neural retina during the early development of the chick embryo eye

The present study deals with morphologic and quantitative changes that take place in the area of cell death in the ventral part of the presumptive retinal wall of the chick embryo. These changes were followed from the optic vesicle stage until the first optic fiber fascicles leave the neural retina. Our results show that both the volume occupied by the area of cell death and the density of its pyknotic fragments undergo considerable variation during the period between Hamburger and Hamilton's (1951) stages 12 to 20. In the optic vesicle stages, cell death in the ventral wall of the vesicle was observed in 50 to 75% of the embryos studied. During stages 14 and 15, this zone was seen in more than 90%. By the time invagination of the optic cup was complete, the ventral retinal zone of cell death had disappeared entirely in a large proportion of embryos; in all others, it shrank significantly both in volume and density of pyknotic fragments. In stage 19, when the first optic fiber fascicles begin to emerge from the retina, a dramatic increase occurs in the number of pyknotic fragments in the posterior pole of the retina. The appearance of dying cells, in a region shortly to be traversed by developing ganglion cell axons, supports the hypothesis that cell death processes are apparently somehow related to the creation of a suitable environment for the emergence of fibers toward the optic stalk. Densities of mitotic and interphasic cells as well as the mitotic index were determined in both the retinal zone of cell death and in areas devoid of dead cells. In all developmental stages analyzed, the mitotic index was notably lower in the former than in non-necrotic zones, suggesting that cell proliferation is partially inhibited in retinal areas of cell death.

Extra-axonal environment and fibre directionality in the early development of the chick embryo optic chiasm: a light and scanning electron microscopic study

The events that occur during the early development of the optic chiasm of the chick embryo have been studied by light and scanning electron microscopy. In developmental stages previous to the arrival of the first optic fibres in the floor of the diencephalon, as well as during the arrival of the leading fibres, extracellular spaces can be seen in the diencephalon ventral wall. These spaces are defined by external cell prolongations which end in a foot-shaped formation. During stages 25 and 26 a prechiasmic degenerative centre appears in the area immediately rostral to the early chiasm, leading to a notable degree of disorganization in the diencephalon wall. This centre appears to be related to the reorganization of the system of external cell processes and extracellular spaces which become progressively more irregularly distributed, coinciding with the arrival of the first optic fibre fascicles to the midline of the floor of the diencephalon. The optic fibre fascicles change their latero-medial directionality in the medial-most regions of the ventral diencephalon, where their course becomes rostrocaudal. This reorientation of the optic fibres seems to be mediated by primitive glial cells which first appear in the ventrorostral region of the early chiasm (previously occupied by the system of external cell processes and extracellular spaces) in stage 26, increasing in number from this stage on. The morphology of the primitive glial cells is laminar in nature and the cells are seen to be densely packed together with no large extracellular spaces between them.

Glioblast migration in the optic stalk of the chick embryo

Light and electron microscopy was used to study the chick embryo optic stalk from Hamburger and Hamilton stages 21 to 29. Observations of glioblast morphology in different developmental stages suggest that these cells undergo radial migration toward peripheral regions of the stalk. Immediately previous to and during migration, morphological changes were noted in the glioblasts, including the appearance of lateral prolongations which contribute to the subdivision of optic fiber fascicles and the radial elongation of their nucleus, which gives the impression of squeezing itself into the peripheral glioblastic prolongation. These phenomena occur in a retino-diencephalic direction, commencing in the distal optic stalk during stage 23 and continuing in subsequent stages. The significance of glioblastic migration is discussed in relation to possible mechanisms through which optic fiber fascicles, initially located on the surface of the stalk, come to lie in deeper areas of the stalk wall.

Differential staining of dead and dying embryonic cells with a simple new technique

A new staining technique with toluidine blue and safranin is described which yields satisfactory results in histological sections of chick embryo tissue fixed in a mixture of glutaraldehyde and formaldehyde and embedded in Spurr's resin. In zones of embryonic cell death, this technique allows the blue-staining of dying cell pyknotic nuclei to be clearly distinguished from red-staining healthy cells. The possible factors underlying this differential staining of pyknotic nuclei are discussed.