Summary
Retinae of chick embryos and chicks one to six weeks after hatching were examined in ultrathin sections and in freeze-etch specimens. The development of the synaptic contacts between receptor cells and bipolar cells starts at the end of the second week of incubation with the enclosure of the dendritic prolongations, invaginating receptor terminals accompanied by the appearance of electron dense material at the synaptic contact sites. Subsequently receptor terminals become filled with synaptic vesicles which surround the synaptic lamellae that appear on the 16th day of incubation. The application of the freeze-fracture technique demonstrates that the differentiation of the synaptic membranes continues into the first week post hatching. E-fracture faces of the presynaptic membranes are characterized by crater-like structures, called synaptopores. Their number is rather small during incubation and increases after hatching. In the P-fracture faces of the dendrites, which are enclosed by the receptor terminals, small particle aggregations appear on the 16th day of incubation. These small particle clusters increase by the apposition of further particles which become arranged in lines and bring out a lattice-like aspect. This arrangement of particles in the inner part of the cell membrane is the morphological expression of the maturation process. The significance of these aggregations as a postsynaptic receptor for neurotransmitters in excitatory cells is discussed.
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Supported by a grant (Me 276/7) from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and by a grant (Az 11 2977) from the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk. The authors wish to express their gratitude to Prof. K.H. Andres for his hospitality and laboratory facilities. We would like to acknowledge the excellent technical assistance of Mr. K. Donberg. We also thank Mrs. Ursula Lietz for her help with the English translation and Mrs. C. Bloch for typing the manuscript
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Meller, K., Tetzlaff, W. The development of membrane specializations in the receptor-bipolar-horizontal cell synapse of the chick embryo retina. Cell Tissue Res. 181, 319–326 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223107
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00223107