Somites in Developing Embryos pp 301-311 | Cite as
The Programming of Vertebral Development
Abstract
The axial skeleton of the random bred Q strain mouse (Falconer 1973) shows very little variation, typically possessing 7 cervical, 13 thoracic, 6 lumbar and 4 sacral vertebrae. In a recent study (Gregg & Snow 1983) we found only about 2% of newborn mice differed from this phenotype, the variant configurations being a single example with 14 thoracic vertebrae with attached ribs, and two examples in which vertebra 27 was incorporated into the sacrum on one side only. This invariance in axial organisation has remained at a constant level throughout our studies, from 1980 to the present, and has enabled us to systematically analyse induced alterations in skeletal pattern and the development of some vertebral malformations (Gregg 1985). In this paper we will focus on vertebral anomalies (hemi-vertebrae, fusions of vertebrae and/or ribs) of the mid-thoracic region and upon the generation of an extra pre-sacral vertebra which is inserted in the thorax, and which possesses fully formed ribs. The methods used in generating these skeletal alterations entail provoking a disturbance in the growth rate, and in the normal co-ordination of development in mouse embryos by reducing cell numbers with the cytotoxic agent, Mitomycin C (MMC) at primitive-streak or early organogenesis stages of development. (Snow & Tam 1979; Snow et al. 1981; Snow 1983, 1986; Gregg & Snow 1983; Tam 1981). Other agents and other circumstances generate identical changes in vertebral development, probably by the same mechanism (see Discussion below, and Gregg & Snow 1983; Snow 1985).
Keywords
Dorsal Root Ganglion Chick Embryo Spinal Nerve Axial Skeleton Vertebral AnomalyPreview
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References
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