Abstract
The distribution of apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) immunoreactivity has been studied in the developing somites and nervous system of the chick embryo at embryonic day 4. AIF was found to be expressed primarily in the cytoplasm of cells of the ventral motor roots, at the points of their insertion into the neural tube. Co-localization of mitochondrial AIF immunoreactivity with the epitopes recognized by the monoclonal antibodies HNK-1 and 1E8 suggests that the AIF may be present in Schwann cell precursors as well as in nerve fibres. AIF immunoreactivity was not observed in either cell bodies in the neural tube, or in the somitic tissue surrounding the ventral roots. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that AIF may be involved in neuronal cell death during development, and that target-derived neuronal survival factors may act by controlling AIF activity.
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Sanders, E.J., Parker, E. Expression of Apoptosis-inducing Factor During Early Neural Differentiation in the Chick Embryo. Histochem J 34, 161–166 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020994515099
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020994515099