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Updated: Aug 16, 2026
Analysis of Cardiomyocyte Development using Immunofluorescence in Embryonic Mouse Heart
Published on: March 26, 2015
Chick heart peptidergic innervation: localization and development
G Corvetti1, L Andreotti, L Sisto Daneo
1Dipartimento di Anatomia e Fisiologia Umana, Università di Torino, Italy.
Insights
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.
Abstract:
Localization and development of chick heart peptidergic innervation (Substance P, VIP and Somatostatin) were investigated by means of immunofluorescence technique. The peptidergic component of the heart innervation was observed, for the first time, in older than 11 day chick embryos, i.e., subsequently to the appearance of the cholinergic component. The peptidergic structures achieve nearly full development in about 16-17 day embryos. Substance P is the most represented of the three peptides. It is localized both in nerve bundle fibers and in isolated fibers within the myocardium, the pericardium, the vessel walls; it is also present in fibers of some heart base ganglia. VIP is mostly contained in some thick single fibers travelling along the vessel walls of the heart base, the myocardium and the pericardium. Some VIP immunoreactive cells were also observed in the base ganglia. Somatostatin is mostly contained in some ganglia cells, whilst thin Somatostatin-immunoreactive fibers form a rich plexus among the atrial and ventricular myofibers, without contacting the vessel walls.
