Changes of creatine concentration during development of chick embryo

Changes of creatine concentration during development of chick embryo. Acta physiol. pol., 1985, 36 (3): 208-215. Investigations were carried out on embryos of Star Cross chicken after 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 days of incubation. It was found that the concentration of total creatine increased from 0.18 to 0.67 mg/g of embryo weight. The increase of creatine concentration at the time of development of the embryo was proportional to the increase in nitrogen concentration, and the share of creatine nitrogen in the pool of total nitrogen was about 1% throughout the whole period of embryonal development and during the first two days after hatching. The amount of creatine in fresh egg and in the yolk sac of the newly hatched chicken was about 1.5 mg. It was estimated that chick embryos during their development synthesized, on the average, 18 mg (6 mMol) of creatine. The course of changes in creatine concentration in the developing chick embryo is very similar to the course of changes in the rate of heat production.     

Development of antioxidant capacity in tissues of the chick embryo

The concentrations of vitamin E, vitamin A, selenium, reduced glutathione and the activities of glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were determined in the yolk, yolk sac membrane, liver and brain of the developing chick embryo. The changes in the concentrations of vitamins E and A in the yolk and liver during development were consistent with the occurrence of a preferential transfer of vitamin A from the yolk to the embryo before day 14 of incubation, whereas the main period of vitamin E transfer occurred later, during the last week of incubation. The concentrations of reduced glutathione in the yolk sac membrane, liver and brain were similar at all developmental stages studied. However, the levels of the other measured antioxidant systems were very much higher in the liver than in the brain. Thus, in the newly hatched chick, the levels of vitamin E, vitamin A, selenium, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase were, respectively, 58.0-, 174.7-, 3.6-, 4.0- and 4.7- fold higher in the liver than in the brain when expressed on the basis of tissue fresh weight.     

Ah receptor for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin: ontogeny in chick embryo liver

Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH, cytochrome P1-450) is induced in chick liver very early during embryonic development if embryos are treated with 3-methylcholanthrene-type compounds such as 3,4,3'4'-tetrachlorobiphenyl. In mammals, AHH induction is known to be mediated by the Ah receptor. Liver from embryonic and newly hatched chicks was found to contain a cytosolic receptor for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) which has properties that are very similar to properties of the Ah receptor previously characterized in mammalian tissues. In chick embryo liver, cytosolic binding sites for TCDD were of high affinity (Kd for [3-H]-TCDD = 0.2 nM) and were specific for 3-methylcholanthrene-type inducers. The specific binding component sedimented at about 9S on sucrose density gradients prepared at low ionic strength. A high level of Ah receptor was detected in chick embryo liver by the fifth day of incubation (5 DI); this is at least 24 hours prior to the onset of AHH inducibility. The Ah receptor concentration increased from 5 DI to 8 DI, the period when chick liver is undergoing early morphological differentiation. After 8 DI, Ah receptor levels dropped substantially and remained low into the posthatching period. In contrast, AHH inducibility was high by 7 DI and remained high throughout embryonic development and into the posthatching period. The discrepancy between Ah receptor levels and the degree of AHH inducibility suggests that only a small fraction of the Ah receptor population is required for maximal AHH induction.     

Metabolism of cholesterol in the tissues and blood of the chick embryo

Three artificially inseminated laying White Leghorn hens were given 35-50 micro c of cholesterol-4-(14)C intravenously. Their subsequently produced eggs contained cholesterol-(14)C-labeled yolks. Some of the fertilized eggs were analyzed for cholesterol content and radioactivity. Other eggs were incubated until hatching. The specific activity of the cholesterol contained in the serum and tissues of newly hatched chicks was determined and compared with that of yolk sac, which was taken as representative of egg yolk cholesterol before its metabolic transfer into the chick embryo. The specific activities of cholesterol in intestine, liver, serum, heart, and skeletal muscle and the whole chick were 95-98% of that in yolk sac, but that of brain cholesterol was only 11% of this value. These results indicate that whereas most of the cholesterol in the chick originated from the egg yolk, cholesterol biosynthesis was active in the brain and provided about 90% of its cholestero content. Newly hatched chicks were found to be hyperlipemic compared with older chicks and had fatty livers with a high cholesterol content. Desmosterol was found in 9- and 15-day old chick embryos but not in the newly hatched chicks, in which the only sterol was cholesterol.     

Toxic effects of phencyclidine on developing chick embryo brain

We studied the effects of Phencyclidine (PCP, Angel Dust) on the developing chick embryo brain. In Group-1, the eggs were injected with PCP on the 7th day of incubation and the embryo brains were studied on the 10th day. In Group-2, eggs were injected twice; first on the 7th day and then on the 10th day of incubation. Group-2 brains were then studied on the 16th day of incubation. PCP significantly depressed the development of embryo brains. Cerebral hemisphere weight, total protein and total DNA were significantly lower on day 10 of incubation in Group-1. Similar results were observed in Group-2. Concomitantly, the concentration of brain serotonin at day 10 was also significantly reduced when PCP was injected into the eggs on the 7th day of incubation. Since serotonin has been reported to influence development of the chick embryo brain, the present finding of the effect of PCP on brain development might be a secondary phenomenon. The possible implications of the effects of PCP on human brain development are also discussed.     

Alcohol dehydrogenase activity in the developing chick embryo

Before day 9 of incubation, chick embryos contain no measurable alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity. Following day 9 of incubation, chick embryo liver ADH activity increases as a linear function of liver mass. A single dose of ethanol given at the start of incubation is cleared only slowly prior to day 9 of incubation but is completely cleared by day 13. Chick embryo liver ADH has two detectable isozymes throughout development. The percentage contribution of each isozyme to total ADH activity does not change significantly during development. The Km apparent of chick liver ADH is significantly increased shortly after hatching relative to the Km apparent of embryonic ADH. Ethanol exposure during incubation has no effect on the development of ADH activity or isozyme distribution.     

Fate of egg white trypsin inhibitor and start of proteolysis in developing chick embryo and newly hatched chick

Trypsin inhibitor and proteolytic activities were studied in incubated eggs, embryos, and newly hatched chicks. After rupture of the secondary seroamniotic suture at 11 days, the trypsin inhibitor content of the albumen gradually passes into the amniotic cavity; from there it is taken up orally by the chick embryo. It is supposed that between 11 and 18 days of embryonic development the trypsin inhibitor passes from the gut to the yolk sac through the vitellointestinal duct. The thin yolk contained only traces of trypsin inhibitor, and the allantoic fluid was entirely free from it. The amylase activity demonstrable in the liquid intestinal contents of the chick embryo indicates the presence of pancreatic secretion. The trypsin inhibitor probably suppresses the proteases not only directly, but also through prevention of the activation of zymogens. Enterocytes of chick embryos showed no morphological indication of the absorption of undigested proteins on histological examination. The cloacal membrane of the newly hatched chick ruptures shortly after the bird has dried up, and the trypsin inhibitor is subsequently eliminated along with the intestinal contents. The intestinal proteolytic enzymes appear immediately afterward. The proteolytic activity appeared regardless of whether the birds were or were not fed. Maximum proteolytic activity was measured in the small intestine of chicks that were fasted for 2 days after hatching. The pattern of proteolytic enzymes as well as their sensitivity to protease inhibitors did not notably differ from that of mammals.     

Cultured chick yolk sac epithelium: structure and IgG surface binding

The chick yolk sac endoderm transports maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) from the yolk into the embryo during development, providing the newly hatched chick with passive immunity until it becomes immunocompetent. To study this transport process, chick yolk sac endodermal cells isolated from embryos of 6 to 18 days of incubation were grown in vitro on a collagen substrate. The cultured cells possessed a remarkable structural similarity to the in vivo tissue and reformed a polarized confluent epithelium with tight junctions and desmosomes joining the cells at their apical margins. In addition, the cells exhibited apical microvilli, numerous phagolysosomes in the cytoplasm and retained the expression of the yolk sac endoderm-specific enzyme marker, cysteine lyase. Importantly, the cultured cells retained the ability to specifically bind IgG as demonstrated by indirect immunofluorescence. Chicken IgG bound to the cultured cells at 4 degrees C in a diffuse pattern that clustered into a punctate pattern when a second antibody was used. Cultures from yolk sacs of day 6 through day 18 of development all demonstrated this immunofluorescent labeling for at least 14 days in culture. These results demonstrate that cultured yolk sac endoderm maintains its differentiated morphology and ability to bind IgG.     

Rapid modulation of the n-3 docosahexaenoic acid levels in the brain and retina of the newly hatched chick

The newly hatched chick obtains its fatty acids almost completely from the lipids of the egg yolk as these are transferred to the developing embryo during its 21-day period of incubation. Since the diet of the laying hen greatly influences the fatty acid composition of the egg lipids, and presumably also the fatty acid composition of the resulting chick, we tested how quickly and to what extent varying the amount of n-3 fatty acids in the diet of the hen would modulate the level of n-3 fatty acids in the brain and retina of the newly hatched chick. White Leghorn hens were fed commercial or semi-purified diets supplemented with 10% fish oil, linseed oil, soy oil, or safflower oil. Eggs, together with the brain, retina, and serum of newly hatched chicks, were then analyzed for fatty acid composition. The fatty acids of egg yolk responded quickly to the hen's diet with most of the change occurring by 4 weeks. There was a linear relationship between the linolenic acid content of the diets and levels of this fatty acid in egg yolk and chick serum. In chicks from hens fed the fish oil diet, the total n-3 fatty acids, including 22:6(n-3), were elevated twofold in the brain and retina and sevenfold in serum relative to commercial diet controls. The safflower oil diet led to a very low n-3 fatty acid content in egg yolks and only 25% of the control n-3 fatty acid content in the brain and retina of chicks.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Leishmania in the chick embryo: IV. Effects of embryo age and hatching,and behavior of L. donovani in cultures of chick fibroblasts

On incubation Days 9, 11, 12, 14, or 15, chick embryos were injected intravenously with 4.0 × 10⁶L. donovani amastigotes. Embryos were incubated at 33 C immediately after infection. Numbers of amastigotes found in the liver 1 hr after injection increased as the age of embryo recipients increased. Most 14- or 15-day infected embryos hatched when allowed to do so, but many younger embryos were unable to survive at 33 C. Numbers of amastigotes in the liver of chicks, hatched after infection as embryos, decreased as the cloacal temperature of the chicks increased. Despite a 31 C incubation temperature, chicks exhibited a mean 38.3 C cloacal temperature 1 day after hatching.Chick fibroblast cultures were initiated as explants of embryo brain and infected with amastigotes from hamster spleen. Only amastigotes were seen in cultures kept at 37 C, but extracellular promastigotes and intracellular amastigotes were present in cultures at 33 C. Although promastigotes increased in number in the medium overlay at 33 C, amastigotes decreased in number at 33 C and 37 C. One intracellular amastigote was seen in a culture which had been incubated at 25 C after inoculation with promastigotes.     

Lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in euthyroid and hypothyroid chick embryo (Gallus domesticus).

1. The effect of propylthiouracil (PTU)-induced hypothyroidism on carbohydrate and lipid metabolism was studied in the chick embryo. 2. A single dose of PTU (250 micrograms/embryo) was administered on day 11 and embryos sacrificed on day 20 of incubation. 3. Thyroid glands were significantly enlarged (6 fold) by PTU administration. 4. Increased thyroid weight was associated with growth retardation and decreased plasma thyroxine levels. 5. Plasma glucose level was lower and phospholipids were significantly higher in the hypothyroid embryo. 6. Liver lipid concentrations in the control and hypothyroid embryos were not different but were significantly higher in both groups when compared to previously reported values in the young chick. 7. In contrast to PTU treatment after hatching, liver glycogen levels were not increased in the hypothyroid chick embryo. This was attributed to the high lipid nutrient condition of the chick embryo since a high lipid diet in the young chick decreased hepatic glycogen accumulation significantly.     

Activities of the enzymes of ketone body metabolism in the developing chick

The concentration of ketone bodies in the blood of the developing chick prior to and just after hatching were higher than those found in the adult. The activities of 3-oxo acid-CoA transferase and acetoacetyl-CoA thiolase in the heart, leg and pectoral muscle before and after hatching were higher than those of the adult. The activity of 3-hydroxybutyrate dehydrogenase increased constantly during incubation and after hatching in all three muscle tissues. In the liver the activities of the enzymes of ketone body synthesis increased during incubation and after hatching. It is suggested that the liver could provide fuel to the extrahepatic tissues of the developing chick and ketone bodies could contribute as fuel for oxidation in the skeletal muscle of the newly hatched bird.     

Insulin synthesis in chick embryo retinas during development

Retinas of chick embryos contain insulin (1) and further, are capable of synthesizing it, as demonstrated by incubating retinas at different ages (7th–18th day) with [³H]leucine. The synthesized radioactive insulin was isolated and assayed by means of a HPLC procedure. The synthesis of insulin was found to be highest in the youngest retinas studied (day 7), afterwards it declined with age except for an increment found at 14–15 day. Explants of chick embryo retinas, cultured in vitro, rapidly degraded insulin. Nevertheless, the content of immunoreactive insulin in retinal explants diminished slowly with the age of culture, so that, after 8 days of incubation, it was about 60% of the content found in the retinas at the beginning of incubation. This was proof that cultured explants are capable of efficiently synthesizing insulin. The synthesized [³H]insulin was released from explants into the medium. This was evident also after 6–8 days in culture.     

Ah receptor for 2,3,7,8- tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin: Ontogeny in chick embryo liver

Aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH, cytochrome P₁-450) is induced in chick liver very early during embryonic development if embryos are treated with 3-methylcholanthrene–type compounds such as 3,4,3′4′-tetrachlorobiphenyl. In mammals, AHH induction is known to be mediated by the Ah receptor. Liver from embryonic and newly hatched chicks was found to contain a cytosolic receptor for 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) which has properties that are very similar to properties of the Ah receptor previously characterized in mammalian tissues. In chick embryo liver, cytosolic binding sites for TCDD were of high affinity (K_d for [3-H]-TCDD = 0.2 nM) and were specific for 3-methylcholanthrene–type inducers. The specific binding component sedimented at about 9S on sucrose density gradients prepared at low ionic strength. A high level of Ah receptor was detected in chick embryo liver by the fifth day of incubation (5 DI); this is at least 24 hours prior to the onset of AHH inducibility. The Ah receptor concentration increased from 5 DI to 8 DI, the period when chick liver is undergoing early morphological differentiation. After 8 DI, Ah receptor levels dropped substantially and remained low into the posthatching period. In contrast, AHH inducibility was high by 7 DI and remained high throughout embryonic development and into the posthatching period. The discrepancy between Ah receptor levels and the degree of AHH inducibility suggests that only a small fraction of the Ah receptor population is required for maximal AHH induction.     

Lack of effect of exogenous insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) on chick embryo growth rate

Direct evidence that IGF-I has any significant effect on embryo growth is lacking. We therefore studied the effect of administration of IGF-I on the chick embryo in ovo. Five hundred ng pure IGF-I (purified from human plasma) were given to chick embryos on 2 occasions (7 and 14 d) by injection directly into the allantoic sac. Treated and control (saline injected) chicks hatched on the same day and were killed. IGF-I appeared to reach the tissues as the [35S]-sulphate uptake of treated sternal cartilage was significantly greater than that of control (P less than 0.02). However, there were no significant effects of treatment on total body weight, bone length measurements, organ (lung, liver, heart) weights, muscle DNA, RNA or protein levels. From these results we conclude that administration of exogenous IGF-I to the chick embryo at 7 and 14 d does not stimulate further growth of the chick embryo.     

Typology,distribution and development of the catecholamine-containing neurons in the chicken brain

Summary Fluorescence-histochemical investigations by use of the FAGLU method show the presence of several groups of catecholamine (CA)-containing neurons in the chicken brain. The distribution, shape and orientation of the fluorescent perikarya as well as the number and orientation of primary dendrites have been systematically examined. In the chick embryo, the first neurons displaying specific catecholamine fluorescence are identifiable on the 9th day of incubation. The onset of this type of specific fluorescence is consistent with biochemical data reported in the literature for the chick embryo. The main complexes of CA-containing cell bodies, shown at medullary, pontine and mesencephalic levels, display a pattern of distribution that is quite similar in both the chicken and the rat. In the hypothalamus of chick embryos and newly hatched chicks, CA-containing neurons have been localized within the paraventricular organ, and the periventricular and mammillary regions. By the fourth week after hatching, within the hypothalamus the paraventricular organ alone continues to display fluorescent neurons.This investigation was supported by grants from the Italian National Research Council (CNR) No 82.02079.04 (R.G.), No 83.00492.04 (G.C.P.) and MPI (40%).Part of this study was previously presented at the 7th ENA meeting, Hamburg, FRG, September 1983 (Guglielmone and Panzica 1983).     

Identification of a developmentally modulated, intermediate filament associated protein in the chick embryo

We report here the detection of a high molecular weight (greater than 400,000) cytoskeletal protein in the myogenic and neural tube derived structures of the chick embryo using a monoclonal antibody, F51H2. Immunohistological analysis reveals that this protein is concentrated in the myotome part of the somites, in the heart primordium, and in the neural tube at the end of the 2nd day of incubation. In cultured fibroblasts, the antibody appeared to decorate a filamentous network, although immunoreactivity was not detected on mesenchymal cells in situ. This network was also observed in cultured myoblasts where it has been demonstrated to be coincident to that of desmin. In colchicine-treated cells the immunoreactivity coincided with the perinuclear cap formed by the collapse of intermediate filaments (IFs). Immunoblot experiments confirmed the early distribution of F51H2 antigen in muscle and nerve tissues and its concentration in a salt-resistant IF-rich fraction of muscle tissues. In addition, there is a progressive loss of immunoreactivity during development. The immunoreactive band on sodium dodecyl sulfate gels was faint in tissues from newly hatched chickens and absent in adult tissues. It is suggested that the monoclonal antibody observed herein reacts with an embryo specific high molecular weight protein that is associated with IFs.     

Fatty acid synthesis in chick embryonic heart and liver during development.

Fatty acid synthesis by subcellular fractions of heart and liver of chick embryos at varying stages of development has been studied. Fatty acid synthetase activity is associated with the embryonic heart at early stages of development, as suggested by substrate requirement, Schmidt decarboxylation of synthesized fatty acids and gas liquid chromatographic identification of the products as palmitic and stearic acids. The fatty acid synthetase activity decreases in heart cytosol with age of the embryo and is absent in the newly hatched chick and in older chicken. The acetyl CoA carboxylase activity is negligible in embryonic and adult chicken heart. The fatty acid synthetase activity in liver is low, but measurable during the entire embryonic development. The activity increases by about three-fold on hatching and thereafter in fed, newly hatched chicks by about 35-fold, over the basal embryonic activity. The acetyl and malonyl transacylase activities in the heart and liver cytosols during development followed closely the fatty acid synthetase activities in heart and liver, respectively. A non-coordinate induction of fatty acid synthetase and acetyl CoA carboxylase activities in liver was observed during development. The microsomal chain elongation in liver and heart followed the pattern of fatty acid synthetase activity in liver and heart, respectively. The mitochondrial chain elongation in embryonic heart is initially low and increases with age; while this activity in liver is higher in early stages of embryonic development than in the older embryos and the chicks. Measurement of lipogenesis from acetate-1-¹⁴C by liver and heart slices from chick embryos and newly hatched chicks support the conclusions reached in the studies with the subcellular fractions. The results obtained indicate that the major system of fatty acid synthesis in embryonic and adult heart is the mitochondrial chain elongation. In embryonic liver, fatty acid synthesis proceeds by chain elongation, while the de novo system is the major contributor to the lipogenic capacity of the liver after hatching.     

Chick embryo culture using duck egg shell--first successful hatch

The suitability of duck egg shell (DES) for chick embryo culture was investigated. Chick embryos were transferred into DESs with all egg contents after 3 days of normal incubation and cultured. The vessels made of polyethylene cling film were used for shell-less control. Among 35 embryos cultured in DESs, 21 survived until 16 days of incubation (13 days after transfer) and finally 3 newly hatched chicks were obtained at 22 days of incubation. One of them died 4 days later, but remaining two became full-grown cocks showing normal body weight and production of fertile sperms. Among 37 embryos cultured in polyethylene vessels, none survived over the period of 19 days of incubation. It is suggested that DES culture system may be useful for the various experiments using chick embryos.     

Morphological and structural study of Landolt's club in the chick retina

Light and electron microscopy were used to study Landolt's club of the bipolar cells in the newborn chick retina as well as in early embryonic stages. In the embryo, the bipolar cells were connected to the outer limiting membrane by Landolt's club. Some of the bipolar cells disconnect from this membrane, by complete retraction of Landolt's club, giving rise to bipolar cells without this process. The newly hatched chick, was used for analysis of the ultrastructure of Landolt's club. Zones of apposition between Muller cells and Landolt's club are associated with cytoplasmic vesicles in both cells. Muller cells appear to transmit vesicular material, possibly nutrients, to bipolar cells through Landolt's club. Thus, Landolt's club provides substrates to bipolar cells in the poorly vascularized region of the chick retina.