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Chick heart peptidergic innervation: localization and development
G Corvetti1, L Andreotti, L Sisto Daneo
1Dipartimento di Anatomia e Fisiologia Umana, Università di Torino, Italy.
Basic and Applied Histochemistry
|January 1, 1988
Summary
Chick heart innervation develops peptidergic components, including Substance P, VIP, and Somatostatin, after 11 days of embryonic development. These nerve fibers mature by day 17, with Substance P being most abundant.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Neuroscience
- Cardiovascular research
Background:
- The nervous system controls heart function through various neurotransmitters.
- Peptidergic innervation plays a role in cardiac regulation, but its developmental timeline in chicks is not fully understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the localization and development of peptidergic innervation (Substance P, VIP, Somatostatin) in the embryonic chick heart.
- To determine the temporal relationship between peptidergic and cholinergic innervation development.
Main Methods:
- Immunofluorescence technique was employed to visualize and identify specific peptides within the developing chick heart.
- Embryonic chick hearts at various developmental stages were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Peptidergic innervation, including Substance P, VIP, and Somatostatin, was first observed in chick embryos older than 11 days, following cholinergic innervation.
- These peptidergic structures reached near-complete development by 16-17 days of incubation.
- Substance P was the most prevalent peptide, found in nerve fibers within the myocardium, pericardium, vessel walls, and ganglia.
- Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) was observed in thick fibers along vessels and in some ganglia cells.
- Somatostatin was primarily located in ganglia cells, with thin fibers forming a plexus within atrial and ventricular myofibers.
Conclusions:
- The peptidergic nervous system of the chick heart develops post-natally, with distinct localization patterns for Substance P, VIP, and Somatostatin.
- This study provides a detailed map of peptidergic innervation development in the embryonic chick heart, contributing to our understanding of cardiac autonomic control.