Recent studies indicate 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 0.4-0.5 mm from the AER) in a labile, undifferentiated condition. Furthermore, when mesenchymal cells are freed from the AER's influence, either artifically or as a result of normal polarized proximal-to-distal limb outgrowth, they are freed to commence cytodifferentiation. In a preliminary attempt to investigate at a molecular level the mechanism by which the AER exerts its "negative" effect on the cytodifferentiation of subridge mesenchymal cells, we have examined the effect of a variety of agents that elevate cyclic AMP levels on the chondrogenic differentiation of the unspecialized subridge mesoderm of the limb bud in an organ culture system. Dibutyryl- and 8-hydroxy-cyclic AMP elicit a dose-dependent increase in the rate and amount of cartilage matrix formation and a corresponding dose-dependent increase in sulfated glycosaminoglycan accumulation by subridge mesoderm explants. The stimulatory effect of suboptimal concentrations of cyclic AMP derivatives is potentiated by the addition of theophylline. The stimulatory effect is limited to cyclic AMP derivatives, since dibutyryl-cyclic GMP and 5'-AMP have no effect. Thus agents that elevate intracellular cyclic AMP levels stimulate the chondrogenic differentiation of the unspecialized subridge mesoderm of the embryonic chick limb bud.

Erythropoietic cells of 5 species, including man, contain endoplasmic reticulum present as individual cisternae or tubules scattered throughout the cytoplasm of all stages except mature RBCs. The endoplasmic reticulum is mainly agranular but occurs frequently as a variant of granular ER which is characterized by an asymmetrical and irregular distribution of ribosomes along one cytoplasmic face. In most cells, the endoplasmic reticulum occurs in close proximity to mitochondria or the plasma membrane, suggesting that the organelle may be involved in functions related to these structures, e.g. haem biosynthesis. Endoplasmic reticulum is more abundant in early than in late erythroid cells. Its exact role in RBC development is unclear. Since endoplasmic reticulum could account for ‘plasma membrane-bound ribosomes’ reported in lysed reticulocytes, studies were performed which ruled out this possibility and which suggested that such ribosomes were an artifact of the lysing conditions. Hypotonic lysis in less than 20 vol. of magnesium-containing buffers yielded ghosts variably contaminated by ribosomes and other structures. Lysis of reticulocytes in 20–30 vol. of magnesium-free buffer or homogenization of whole cells or crude membrane fractions in hypotonic buffer removed virtually all contaminating ribosomes from the purified membrane fraction.

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.

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