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Concomitant changes in endothelial cell junctions and extracellular matrix components in the chick embryo aorta
E Arciniegas1, F Sánchez, D Candelle
1Instituto Anatomopatológico, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas.
Anatomy and Embryology
|January 1, 1991
Summary
Chick embryo aorta development involves forming intercellular junctions and complex extracellular matrix, influencing endothelial cell polarization. This study tracks these changes from day 7 to post-hatching.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Cell Biology
- Histology
Background:
- Endothelial activation and collagen response in chick embryos are known between days 7-18.
- This response diminishes significantly after hatching.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the development of intercellular junctions and extracellular matrix in chick embryo aortas.
- To understand how these changes influence endothelial cell polarization.
Main Methods:
- Freeze-fracturing technique to analyze endothelial cell membranes.
- Histochemical staining with cuprolinic blue to study proteoglycans.
- Analysis of aortas from chick embryos (days 7-21) and post-hatching chicks (14 days).
Main Results:
- Intramembranous particle aggregation suggests gap junction formation between days 12-14.
- Development of linear and macular tight junctions observed, indicating increasing occlusion.
- Complex extracellular matrix with proteoglycans forms in the subendothelial region.
Conclusions:
- Intercellular junction assembly progresses from linear to macular and occluding arrangements.
- Increasing extracellular matrix complexity correlates with junction development.
- These combined changes likely influence endothelial cell polarization in developing chick aortas.