Summary
In the present work we have studied the mechanism of formation and the possible morphogenetic significance of the process of ectopic chondrogenesis induced by surgical removal of AER of the interdigital spaces of the chick leg bud at stage 28–30 (Hurle and Gañan 1986). Our results show that ridge removal causes condensation and rounding of the underlaying mesenchymal cells followed by chondrogensis. The long-term study of the fate of these ectopic cartilages shows that in a high percentage of the cases the cartilages undergo morphogenesis taking by day 10 of incubation the appearance of the two distal phalanges of an extra-digit. These extra-digits lack tendons and are joined by thin interdigital membranes to the neighboring digits.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Amprino R (1984) The development of vertebrate limb. Clin Orthop 188:263–284
Archer CW, Cottrill CP, Rooney P (1984) Cellular aspects of cartilage differentiation and morphogenesis. In: Kemp RB, Hinchliffe JR (eds) Matrices and cell differentiation, Alan R Liss, New York, pp 409–426
Ballard KJ, Holt SJ (1968) Cytological and cytochemical studies on cell death and digestion in the foetal rat foot: The role of macrophages and hydrolytic enzymes. J Cell Sci 3:245–262
Elmer WA (1982) Developmental cues in limb bud chondrogenesis. Collagen Relat Res 2:257–279
Fallon JF, Brucker RF, Harris CM (1974) A reexamination of succinic dehydrogenase activity and its association with cell death in the interdigit of the chick foot. J Cell Sci 15:17–29
Fallon JF, Cameron J (1977) Interdigital cell death during limb development of the turtle and lizard with an interpretation of evolutionary significance. J Embryol Exp Morphol 40:485–489
Fallon JF, Kelley RO (1977) Ultrastructural analysis of the apical ectodermal ridge during vertebrate limb morphogenesis. II. Gap junctions as distinctive ridge structure common to birds and mammals. J Embryol Exp Morphol 41:223–232
Hamburger V, Hamilton HL (1951) A series of normal stages in the development of the chick embryo. J Morphol 88:49–92
Hinchliffe JR (1981) Cell death in embryogenesis. In: Bowen ID, Lockshin RA (eds) Cell death in Biology and Pathology, Chapman and Hall, London, pp 35–78
Hinchliffe JR (1982) Cell death in vertebrate limb morphogenesis. In: Harrison JR, Naratnam V (eds) Progress in Anatomy, vol 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 1–19
Hinchliffe JR, Thorogood PV (1974) Genetic inhibition of mesenchymal cell death and the development of form and skeletal pattern in the limb of Talpid 3 (Ta 3) mutant chick embryos. J Embryol Exp Morphol 31:747–760
Honig LS, Summerbell D (1985) Maps of strength of positional signalling activity in the developing chick wing bud. J Embryol Exp Morphol 87:163–174
Hurle JM, Gañan Y (1986) Interdigital tissue chondrogenesis induced by surgical removal of the ectoderm in the embryonic chick leg bud. J Embryol Exp Morphol 94:231–244
Hurle JM, Lafarga M, Hinchliffe JR (1981) The surface coat of embryonic limb mesenchymal cells during morphogenetic cell death. An ultrastructural study of chick interdigital necrotic zones (INZ) using ruthenium red and concanavalin A. Exp Cell Res 133:465–470
Kosher RA, Savage MP, Chan SC (1979) In vitro studies on the morphogenesis and differentiation of the mesoderm subjacent to the apical ectodermal ridge of the embryonic chick limb-bud. J Embryol Exp Morphol 50:75–97
Newman SA (1977) Lineage and pattern in the developing wing bud. In: Ede DA, Hinchliffe JR, Balls M (eds) “Vertebrate limb and Somite Morphogenesis” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 181–198
Ojeda JL, Barbosa E, Bosque PG (1970) A rapid method for selective staining of whole chicken embryos. Stain Tech 42:262–264
Pautou MP (1973) Analyse de la morphogenèse du pied des Oiseaux à l'aide de mélanges cellulaires interspécifiques. I. Etude morphologique. J Embryol Exp Morphol 29:175–196
Pautou MP (1975) Morphogenèse de l'autopode chez l'embryon de poulet. J Embryol Exp Morphol 34:511–529
Rowe DA, Fallon JF (1982) The proximodistal determination of skeletal parts in the developing chick leg. J Embryol Exp Morphol 68:1–7
Rubin L, Saunders JW Jr (1972) Ectodermal-mesodermal interactions in the growth of limb buds in the chick embryo: Constancy and temporal limits of the ectodermal induction. Dev Biol 28:94–114
Sauders JW Jr (1948) The proximodistal sequence of origin of parts of the chick wing and the role of the ectoderm. J Exp Zool 108:363–404
Saunders JW Jr, Fallon JF (1967) Cell death in morphogenesis. In: Locke M (ed) Major Problems in Developmental Biology, Academic Press, New York, pp 289–314
Saunders JW Jr, Gasseling MT (1968) Ectodermal-mesenchymal interactions in the origin of limb symmetry. In: Fleischmajer R, Billingham RE (eds) Epithelial-Mesenchymal Interactions Williams and Wilkins, Baltimore, pp 78–97
Saunders JW Jr, Gasseling MT, Saunders LC (1962) Cellular death in morphogenesis of the avian wing. Dev Biol 5:147–178
Solursh M, Singley CT, Reitter RS (1981) The influence of epithelia on cartilage and loose connective tissue formation by limb mesenchyme cultures. Dev Biol 86:471–482
Summerbell D (1974) A quantitative analysis of the effect of excision of the AER from the chick limb-bud. J Embryol Exp Morphol 32:651–660
Summerbell D (1977) Reduction of the rate of outgrowth, cell density and cell division following removal of the apical ectodermal ridge of the chick limb bud. J Embryol Exp Morphol 40:1–21
Summerbell D, Honig LS (1982) The control of pattern across the antero-posterior axis of the chick limb bud by a unique signalling region. Am Zool 22:105–116
Summerbell D, Lewis JH, Wolpert L (1973) Positional information in chick limb morphogenesis. Nature 244:492–495
Thévenet A (1981) Would healing of the integument in the 5-day chick embryo, Arch Anat Micro Morphol Exp 70:227–244
Tickle C (1980) The polarising region and limb development. In: Johnson MH (ed) Development in Mammals, vol. 4, Elsevier/North Holland Biomed Press, Amsterdam, pp 101–136
Tickle C, Summerbell D, Wolpert L (1975) Positional signalling and specification of digits in chick limb morphogenesis. Nature 254:199–202
Zanetti NC, Solursh M (1984) Induction of chondrogenesis in limb mesenchymal cultures by disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. J Cell Biol 99:115–123
Zanetti NC, Solursh M (1986) Epithelial effects on limb chondrogenesis involve extracellular matrix and cell shape. Dev Biol 113:110–118
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Hurle, J.M., Ganan, Y. Formation of extra-digits induced by surgical removal of the apical ectodermal ridge of the chick embryo leg bud in the stages previous to the onset of interdigital cell death. Anat Embryol 176, 393–399 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310193
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00310193