Distribution of CD105 and CD166 positive cells in the proximal epiphysis of developing rat humerus

The expression of cell surface receptors, CD105 and CD166, are characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells in cartilage. However, there is limited data regarding their immunolocalization in the cartilage of developing rat epiphysis. The purpose of this study was to determine the presence of CD105 and CD 166 positive cells in the proximal epiphysis of developing rat humerus and specify their zonal distribution with age. The tissues of rat humerus were taken on embryonic day 15 (E15), embryonic day 19 (E19), postnatal day 10 (PN10), postnatal day 20 (PN20) and adult rats and studied for the immunolocalization of CD105 and CD166. Our results showed that CD105 and CD166 positive cells were scattered in early stages of development of humerus epiphysis. For E15, only the hypertrophic zone was positive, whereas for E19 almost all zones of the epiphysis were positively stained for these markers. For PN10 and PN20, the CD105 and CD166 positive cells were mainly localized on the surface of the articular cartilage. In adult articular cartilage the CD105 and CD166 positive cells were localized in the superficial and transitional zones and in the upper regions of the deep zone. Our study provides evidence that in the developing cartilage tissue the localization of CD105 and CD166 positive cells is both dynamic and stage dependent, which may imply the existence of stem cell-like cells in cartilage from an early age to adult.