FGF-4 maintains polarizing activity of posterior limb bud cells in vivo and in vitro

Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 119 (1) ◽  
pp. 199-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Vogel ◽  
C. Tickle

The polarizing region is a major signalling tissue involved in patterning the tissues of the vertebrate limb. The polarizing region is located at the posterior margin of the limb bud and can be recognized by its ability to induce additional digits when grafted to the anterior margin of a chick limb bud. The signal from the polarizing region operates at the tip of the bud in the progress zone, a zone of undifferentiated mesenchymal cells, maintained by interactions with the apical ectodermal ridge. A number of observations have pointed to a link between the apical ectodermal ridge and signalling by the polarizing region. To test this possibility, we removed the posterior apical ectodermal ridge of chick wing buds and assayed posterior mesenchyme for polarizing activity. When the apical ectodermal ridge is removed, there is a marked decrease in polarizing activity of posterior cells. The posterior apical ectodermal ridge is known to express FGF-4 and we show that the decrease in polarizing activity of posterior cells of wing buds that normally follows ridge removal can be prevented by implanting a FGF-4-soaked bead. Furthermore, we show that both ectoderm and FGF-4 maintain polarizing activity of limb bud cells in culture.

Development ◽  
1980 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 325-339
Author(s):  
T. E. Kwasigroch ◽  
D. M. Kochhar

Two techniques were used to examine the effect of vitamin A compounds (vitamin A acid = retinoic acid and vitamin A acetate) upon the relative strengths of adhesion among mouse limb-bud mesenchymal cells. Treatment with retinoic acid in vivo and with vitamin A acetate in vitro reduced the rate at which the fragments of mesenchyme rounded-up when cultured on a non-adhesive substratum, but these compounds did not alter the behavior of tissues tested in fragment-fusion experiments. These conflicting results indicate that the two tests measure different activities of cells and suggest that treatment with vitamin A alters the property(ies) of cells which regulate the internal viscosity of tissues.


Development ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 50 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-97
Author(s):  
Robert A. Kosher ◽  
Mary P. Savage ◽  
Sai-Chung Chan

It has been suggested that one of the major functions of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) of the embryonic chick limb-bud is to maintain mesenchymal cells directly subjacent to it (i.e. cells extending 00·4–00·5 mm from the AER) in a labile, undifferentiated condition. We have attempted to directly test this hypothesis by subjecting the undifferentiated subridgemesoderm of stage-25 embryonic chick wing-buds to organ culture in the presence and absence of the AER and the ectoderm that normally surrounds the mesoderm dorsally and ventrally. During the period of culture, control explants comprised of the subridge mesoderm capped by the AER and surrounded by the dorsal/ventral ectoderm undergo progressivemorphogenesis characterized by polarized proximal to distal outgrowth and changes in the contour of the developing explant, and ultimately form a structure grossly resembling a normal distal wing-bud tip. In contrast, explants from which the AER and dorsal/ventral ectoderm have been removed (minus ectoderm explants) or from which just the AER has been removed (minus AER explants) form compact, rounded masses exhibiting no signs of morphogenesis. During the polarized proximal to distal outgrowth control explants undergo during the first 3 days of culture, as cells of the explant become located greater than 0·4– 0·5 mm from the AER, they concomitantly undergo a sequence of changes indicative of their differentiation into cartilage. However, those cells which remain 0·4–0·5 mm from the AER during this period retain the characteristics of non-specialized mesenchymal cells. In marked contrast to control explants, virtually all of the cells of minus ectoderm explants initiate chondrogenic differentiation during the first day of culture. Cells comprising the central core of minus AER explants also initiate chondrogenic differentiation during the first day of culture, but in contrast to minus ectoderm explants, non-chondrogenic tissue types form along the periphery of the explants subjacent to the dorsal/ventral ectoderm. These results indicate that the AER maintains cells directly subjacent to it in a labile, undifferentiated condition, and that when mesenchymal cells are freed from the AER's influence either artificially or as a result of normal polarized outgrowth, they are freed to commence cytodifferentiation. The results further suggest that the dorsal/ventral ectoderm may have an influence on the differentiation of the mesenchymal cells directly subjacent to it, once the cells have been removed from the influence of the AER.


Development ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 117 (4) ◽  
pp. 1421-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Anderson ◽  
M. Landry ◽  
K. Muneoka

The positional signal localized to the posterior (zone of polarizing activity or ZPA) region of the vertebrate limb is transiently expressed during development and a decline in ZPA signaling is accelerated when posterior cells are dissociated and cultured in vitro. The evidence that cultured posterior cells display a precocious decline in ZPA signaling when compared to in vivo studies suggests that a factor present in the limb bud maintains or stabilizes ZPA signaling during limb outgrowth and that this maintenance factor is lost and/or exhausted in in vitro studies. We have developed a new culture technique, ‘microdissociation’, which preserves extracellular components that we have found to be necessary for ZPA signal maintenance. Our data suggest that the limb bud ectoderm produces a maintenance activity that becomes stored in the extracellular matrix where it acts on limb bud cells to stabilize the activity of the ZPA signal. Using our initial characterization of this maintenance activity, we have identified a growth factor, FGF-2 (bFGF), that can replace all of the ZPA signaling maintenance activity observed in microdissociate cultures. The existence of various members of the FGF family in the developing limb strongly argues a role for FGF in stabilizing ZPA signaling in vivo.


Development ◽  
1994 ◽  
Vol 120 (1) ◽  
pp. 177-187 ◽  
Author(s):  
S.A. Oberlender ◽  
R.S. Tuan

Cell adhesion molecules have been shown to be important mediators of morphogenesis and pattern formation. In this study, we have shown that N-cadherin is expressed in a specific spatiotemporal manner in the developing limb bud during chondrogenesis in vivo and in cultured limb mesenchyme in vitro. The time period of maximal expression of N-cadherin corresponds to the period of active cellular condensation, an event believed to be a necessary prerequisite for chondrogenic differentiation. To directly assess the functional involvement of N-cadherin in cellular condensation, we have examined the effects of perturbing N-cadherin activity on both cell aggregation and chondrogenesis using NCD-2, a rat monoclonal antibody directed against the binding region of N-cadherin. Non-immune rat IgG was used as a control. Our results show that functional N-cadherin is necessary for chondrogenesis to proceed both in vivo and in vitro. Limb mesenchymal cells exhibited characteristic Ca(2+)-dependent cell aggregation in suspension, which was inhibited in the presence of exogenous NCD-2. In micromass cultures of limb mesenchymal cells, NCD-2 inhibited overt chondrogenesis in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, NCD-2 inhibition of chondrogenesis in micromass cultures was time-dependent, suggesting that N-cadherin is crucially involved during the latter half of the first 24 hours of culture, a time period most likely corresponding to active cellular condensation. NCD-2 also significantly influenced limb development when injected into embryonic limb buds in vivo. In addition to significant inhibition of chondrogenesis and developmental delays, gross developmental deformities and perturbation of overall pattern formation were also observed. Taken together, these results demonstrate that N-cadherin is functionally required in mediating the cell-cell interactions among mesenchymal cells important for chondrogenesis in micromass culture in vitro and in the intact limb bud in vivo.


2011 ◽  
Vol 107 (5) ◽  
pp. 683-690 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malihezaman Monsefi ◽  
Fatemeh Parvin ◽  
Tahereh Talaei-Khozani

Pomegranate is a rich source of polyphenols, which are believed to be responsible for the oestrogenic activities of extracts of this fruit in mice. One of these potential activities is the prevention of bone loss. The objectives of the present study were to determine the effects of pomegranate extract on chondrogenesis and osteogenesis in mouse embryos in vivo and limb bud cultures in vitro. A total of fifty pregnant Balb/c mice were given vehicle, pomegranate juice extract (PJE), pomegranate husk extract (PHE) or a mixture of husk and juice extract (PME). Their embryos were stained with alizarin red S and alcian blue, and the length of the femur, tibia and their ossification zones were measured on day 19 of gestation. Bone Ca content in pregnant mice was also measured. Mice treated with PJE showed an increase in bone Ca content. Dietary supplementation with all extracts significantly increased embryo femur length and osteogenesis index. Mesenchymal cells from fetal limb buds were cultured and exposed to 10, 100, 1000 and 10 000 μg/ml of PJE, PHE or PME. The number of viable cells was greater in cultures exposed to the extracts than in control cultures. The number of cartilage nodules and their diameters were greater in extract-treated cell cultures, a finding which reflected increased cell proliferation and differentiation rates. In conclusion, the findings of the present study suggest that pomegranate is able to enhance bone formation.


One method by which the problem of the differentiation of animal tissues may be approached is by studying the behaviour of simple embryonic tissues when growing in an abnormal environment, such as that produced by grafting into atypical situations in vivo or by cultivation in vitro . It is along these lines that the investigations of the present writers are being conducted. The work so far completed, the results of which are recorded in the present communication, consists of a study of the development of the undifferentiated, embryonic limb-bud of the fowl when grafted subcutaneously into a postembryonic chick and when cultivated vitro. A preliminary investigation of the histogenesis of cartilage and bone in the limbs of the embryonic fowl was carried out by one of the writers (Fell, 1925) in order to provide normal standards with which to compare the experimental material. Rous (1910, 1911), Fichera (1909) and many others have successfully grafted foœtal and embryonic tissues into young and adult animals, usually in connection with the study of tumour growth ; a bibliography and summary of the earlier work is given in Fichera’s paper. Almost all the work on the development of grafts of the undifferentiated limb-buds has been carried out on the embryonic Amphibia by Braus, Harrison (1907, 1918, 1921), Detweiler (1918, 1925), Nicholas (1924) and others. Spurting (1923) describes a case of accidental but successful autotransplantation of the posterior limb-bud in a fowl embryo. Murray and Huxley (1925) record two experiments in which part of the limb-bud of a four-days’ embryo was successfully grafted on to the chorioallantoic membranes ; in one case “ a highly differentiated and very easily recognizable femur ” showing early ossification was found after 5 days’ growth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S7-S8
Author(s):  
Safina Gadeock ◽  
Cambrian Liu ◽  
Brent Polk

Abstract Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a highly expressed cytokine in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Although TNF can induce colonic epithelial dysfunction and apoptosis, recent studies suggest that TNF signalling promotes epithelial wound repair and stem cell function. Here we investigated the role of TNF receptor 1 (TNFR1) in mediating TNF’s effects on colonic epithelial stem cells, integral to mucosal healing in colitis. We demonstrate that Tnfr1-/- mice exhibit loss in Lgr5 expression (-52%, p<0.02; N=6) compared to wildtype (WT) controls. However, the opposite result was found in vitro, wherein murine Tnfr1-/- colonoids demonstrated a significant increase in Lgr5 expression (66%, p<0.007; N=6) compared to WT colonoids. Similarly, human colonoids treated with an anti-TNFR1 antibody also demonstrated an increase in Lgr5 expression, relative to IgG controls. To resolve the contradiction in the in vivo versus in vitro environment, we hypothesized that mesenchymal TNFR1 expression regulates the epithelial stem cell niche. To determine the relationships between these cell types, we co-cultured WT or Tnfr1-/- colonoids with WT or Tnfr1-/- colonic myofibroblasts (CMFs). We found that epithelial Lgr5 expression was significantly higher (by 52%, p<0.05; N=3) when co-cultured with WT compared to TNFR1-/- myofibroblasts. The loss of TNFR1 expression in vivo increases the number of αSMA+ mesenchymal cells by nearly 56% (N=6) but considerably reduces the pericryptal PDGFRα+ cells, suggesting modifications in mesenchymal populations that contribute to the epithelial stem cell niche. Functionally, primary Tnfr1-/--CMFs displayed PI3k (p<0.001; N=3) and MAPK (p<0.01; N=3)-dependent increases in migration, proliferation, and differentiation, but RNA profiling demonstrated by diminished levels of stem cell niche factors, Rspo3 (-80%, p<0.0001; N=6) and Wnt2b (-63%, p<0.008; N=6) compared to WT-CMFs. Supplementation with 50ng recombinant Rspo3 for 5 d to Lgr5-GFP organoids co-cultured with TNFR1-/--CMFs restored Lgr5 expression to wildtype levels. Therefore, TNFR1-mediated TNF signalling in mesenchymal cells promotes their ability to support an epithelial stem cell niche. These results should motivate future studies of the stem cell niche in the context of long-term treatment with anti-TNF therapies.


In a previous communication (Strangeways and Fell, 1926) it was shown that if the undifferentiated limb-bud of the embryonic Fowl was cultivated in vitro , it underwent a considerable amount of progressive development. This capacity for independent development in vitro possessed by an isolated organ has been further investigated, and for these later experiments the writers have employed the early embryonic eye, a structure endowed with more complex potentialities than the limb-bud. As a result of these experiments it was found that the eyes of young Fowl embryos possess, in a remarkable degree, the faculty for self-differentiation in vitro and for “organotypic” growth as defined by Maximow (1925). The previous work on organotypic growth in vitro has already been briefly outlined in the writers’ earlier paper and need not be discussed here. The expenses connected with the experiments described in this communication were met by the Medical Research Council, to whom the writers desire to express their thanks.


Development ◽  
1974 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 227-237
Author(s):  
Dennis Summerbell

The experiments examine the extent of reduplication of skeletal parts across the anteroposterior axis, following the transplantation of a zone of polarizing activity (ZPA) to the anterior margin of the limb-bud at successively later stages. Previous studies have suggested that the function of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER) is to maintain cells in a special region at the distal tip (the progress zone) labile, with respect to their positional value along the proximo-distal axis. Similarly, the results of these experiments demonstrate that cells in the progress zone are able to change their antero-posterior positional value under the influence of the grafted ZPA, while cells at more proximal levels remain unaffected. In turn, the ZPA may effect the activity of the AER and hence the progress zone.


Development ◽  
1981 ◽  
Vol 62 (1) ◽  
pp. 229-239
Author(s):  
Hiroyuki Nogawa

Quail anterior submaxillary glands elongated extensively without branching (more than sevenfold) from 8 to 10 incubation days. Investigation of mitotic activity of the rudiments in vivo showed no localized cell proliferation throughout the rudiments, and recombination experiments in vitro to examine regional differences in mitogenic activity of the surrounding mesenchyme also showed that no mesenchymal region specifically stimulates the epithelial cell proliferation. Histological observation of the rudiments showed that epithelial cells did not lengthen in a parallel direction to the long axis of the rudiment, and that mesenchymal cells encircled the epithelial cord perpendicularly to its axis. The basement membrane was obscure in the distal end of the rudiments, while it was easily detected in the other part of the rudiments. These results suggest that the elongating morphogenesis of the anterior submaxillary rudiments is not achieved by localized cell proliferation but by almost uniformly distributed cell proliferation, and mesenchymal cells surrounding the rudiment or the basement membrane may be involved in the controlling mechanisms of the elongating morphogenesis.


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