TY - JOUR
T1 - Transient expression of GAP-43 in nonneuronal cells of the embryonic chicken limb
AU - Stocker, Kate M.
AU - Baizer, Lawrence
AU - Ciment, Gary
N1 - Funding Information:
thank Philip Copenhaver for constructive criticism of This work was supported by grants from the NIH to
PY - 1992/2
Y1 - 1992/2
N2 - Growth associated protein (GAP)-43 is a membrane-bound phosphoprotein expressed in neurons and is particularly abundant during periods of axonal outgrowth in development and regeneration of the nervous system. In previous work, we cloned a full-length chicken GAP-43 cDNA and described the expression of its corresponding mRNA during early development of the chicken nervous system. We report here that the GAP-43 mRNA is also expressed transiently in developing limbs of chicken embryos, which contain axons of spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion neurons, but do not contain neuronal cell bodies. GAP-43 mRNA was first detectable by RNA blot analysis in limbs from Embryonic Day 5 (E5) embryos, reached maximal levels between E6 and E8, and diminished by E10. In situ hybridization analysis showed that the GAP-43 mRNA was localized in distal regions of developing limbs and was particularly abundant in the mesenchyme surrounding the digital cartilage. In some regions of the limb, GAP-43 immunoreactivity colocalized in cells that were also immunoreactive for meromyosin, a muscle-specific marker. These data suggest that both GAP-43 mRNA and the protein are expressed in nonneuronal cells of the developing limb, some of which may be part of the muscle cell lineage.
AB - Growth associated protein (GAP)-43 is a membrane-bound phosphoprotein expressed in neurons and is particularly abundant during periods of axonal outgrowth in development and regeneration of the nervous system. In previous work, we cloned a full-length chicken GAP-43 cDNA and described the expression of its corresponding mRNA during early development of the chicken nervous system. We report here that the GAP-43 mRNA is also expressed transiently in developing limbs of chicken embryos, which contain axons of spinal cord and dorsal root ganglion neurons, but do not contain neuronal cell bodies. GAP-43 mRNA was first detectable by RNA blot analysis in limbs from Embryonic Day 5 (E5) embryos, reached maximal levels between E6 and E8, and diminished by E10. In situ hybridization analysis showed that the GAP-43 mRNA was localized in distal regions of developing limbs and was particularly abundant in the mesenchyme surrounding the digital cartilage. In some regions of the limb, GAP-43 immunoreactivity colocalized in cells that were also immunoreactive for meromyosin, a muscle-specific marker. These data suggest that both GAP-43 mRNA and the protein are expressed in nonneuronal cells of the developing limb, some of which may be part of the muscle cell lineage.
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U2 - 10.1016/0012-1606(92)90295-R
DO - 10.1016/0012-1606(92)90295-R
M3 - Article
C2 - 1530926
AN - SCOPUS:0026529189
SN - 0012-1606
VL - 149
SP - 406
EP - 414
JO - Developmental Biology
JF - Developmental Biology
IS - 2
ER -