Extracellular matrix from embryonic myocardium elicits an early morphogenetic event in cardiac endothelial differentiation

Abnormal interactions of embryonic mouse trisomy 16 heart fibroblasts with extracellular matrix components in vitro

Trisomy 16 mice have cardiovascular abnormalities thought to arise from altered development and maturation of the cardiac cushions. Cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions play critical roles in heart morphogenesis. To begin to examine the potential involvement of cell-ECM interactions in abnormal trisomy 16 heart development, fibroblasts were isolated from normal and trisomy 16 embryonic mouse hearts. Behavior of these cells was compared in bioassays involving cell-ECM interactions including cell attachment and collagen gel contraction. Significant differences in cell-ECM interactions were found between fibroblasts isolated from normal and trisomy 16 embryonic hearts. Trisomy 16 cells attached poorly to collagen and laminin compared to normal fibroblasts. Trisomy 16 heart fibroblasts also contracted collagen gels less effectively than normal heart fibroblasts. Cell-ECM interactions are largely mediated by ECM receptors of the integrin family. Expression of beta 1 integrins was examined at the mRNA and protein levels in normal and trisomy 16 fibroblasts. Analyses of integrin expression indicated the pattern of integrins produced by normal and trisomy 16 fibroblasts to be similar. These results indicate that fibroblasts isolated from embryonic trisomy 16 mouse hearts interact with several ECM components including collagen and laminin less efficiently than fibroblasts from normal mouse embryos. As cell-ECM interactions play significant roles in cardiac cushion development, abnormal interactions may contribute to defective atrioventricular septal morphogenesis in the trisomy 16 mouse.

An autocrine function for transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta3 in the transformation of atrioventricular canal endocardium into mesenchyme during chick heart development

Transformation of atrioventricular canal endocardium into invasive mesenchyme is a critical antecedent of cardiac septation and valvulogenesis. Previous studies by Potts et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 88, 1510-1520, 1991) showed that treatment of atrioventricular canal endocardial and myocardial cocultures with TGFbeta3 antisense oligodeoxynucleotides blocked mesenchyme formation. Based on this observation, we sought to: (i) identify the target tissue of TGFbeta3 antisense oligos in this transformation bioassay, and (ii) more clearly define the mechanism of TGFbeta3 function in atrioventricular canal mesenchyme formation. In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed little or no TGFbeta3 mRNA or protein in the atrioventricular canal myocardium or endocardium prior to mesenchyme formation (stage 14; paraformaldehyde fixation). However, by stage 18 transforming atrioventricular canal endocardial cells and mesenchyme as well as myocardium were positive for both TGFbeta3 mRNA and protein. In culture bioassays, atrioventricular canal endocardial monolayers pretreated with antisense phosphorothioate oligodeoxynucleotides to TGFbeta3 did not transform into invasive mesenchyme in response to cardiocyte conditioned medium: the subsequent addition of exogenous TGFbeta3 protein relieved this inhibition. Control cultures without pretreatment or those receiving missense oligos generated similar numbers of invasive mesenchyme in response to cardiocyte conditioned medium. Direct addition of TGFbeta3 protein to atrioventricular canal endocardial monolayers in the absence of cardiocyte conditioned medium resulted in loss of cell:cell associations and stimulated cellular hypertrophy, but did not engender invasive mesenchyme formation or alter endocardial proliferation after 24 h of culture. Similar results were obtained with TGFbeta2 protein, either alone or in combination with TGFbeta3. The results of this study indicate that: (i) atrioventricular canal endocardium expresses TGFbeta3 in response to a myocardially derived signal other than TGFbeta3, (ii) atrioventricular canal endocardial TGFbeta3 functions in an autocrine fashion to elicit selected characteristics necessary for cushion tissue formation, and (iii) TGFbeta3 alone or in combination with TGFbeta2 is insufficient to transform atrioventricular canal endocardium into invasive mesenchyme in culture.

Distribution of fibronectin, type I collagen, type IV collagen, and laminin in the cardiac jelly of the mouse embryonic heart with retinoic acid-induced complete transposition of the great arteries

BACKGROUND

In the mouse model of complete transposition of the great arteries (TGA) produced by all-trans retinoic acid (RA), parietal and septal ridges in the outflow tract (OT) are hypoplastic. At first, these ridges are generated by an expanded cardiac jelly (mainly myocardial basement membrane). Thereafter, endothelial cells delaminate and invade into the adjacent cardiac jelly to form endocardial cushion tissue (formation of cushion ridge). During cushion tissue formation, basement membrane antigens play an important role in the regulation of this endothelial-mesenchymal transformation.

METHODS

To examine whether the myocardial basement membrane components are altered in the RA-treated heart OT, immunohistochemistry for fibronectin, type I collagen, type IV collagen, and laminin was carried out in mouse embryonic hearts at 9.5 and 10.5 ED (embryonic day; vaginal plug = day 0) with or without prior exposure to RA.

RESULTS

Particulate/fibrillar fibronectin and fibrillar type I collagen were observed in the thick cardiac jelly of the control heart at the onset of mesenchymal formation. In the RA-treated heart, an intermittent patchy staining for fibronectin and a sparse distribution of type I collagen were observed in the thin cardiac jelly. Laminin and type IV collagen were distributed continuously on the basal surface (layer adjacent to the basal plasma membrane) of endocardium and myocardium in both control and RA-treated hearts.

CONCLUSIONS

The alterations in the antigens of the myocardial basement membrane (cardiac jelly) may be responsible for the hypoplasticity of parietal and septal ridges that characterizes RA-induced TGA morphology. This may be one of the reasons why mesenchymal cell formation is inhibited in the RA-induced TGA.

Regulation of urokinase expression in the developing avian heart: a role for the Ets-2 transcription factor

During heart development, cells of the endocardial cushions undergo an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation and migrate into the surrounding extracellular matrix. This event is required for the normal formation of valves and chamber septation. Coincident with this phenotypic change is the expression of the serine protease urokinase by the mesenchymal cells. This protease plays an important role in remodeling of the matrix, promotion of cell migration by regulating cell-matrix interactions, and the activation of growth factors. To understand the mechanisms underlying the expression of urokinase during heart development, studies were designed to analyze the role of the Ets transcription factors in the regulation of the avian urokinase gene promoter. Deletion or mutagenesis of the Ets consensus sites significantly decreased the activity of the promoter in isolated cushion tissue cells. Proteins were identified by electrophoretic mobility shift analysis and UV-crosslinking which bound to a specific region of the promoter shown to be required for full transcriptional activity. Analyses based upon protein molecular weight and interaction with specific antibodies suggest a role for the Ets-2 protein in promoter binding and activity. The expression of Ets-2 in the cushion tissue cells was confirmed by RT-PCR analysis and in situ hybridization. The mRNA levels and the DNA binding activity of the Ets-2 protein were found to change during development paralleling the increase in urokinase activity. Overexpression of the full-length Ets-2 protein or a dominant-negative form of the protein altered the activity of the promoter and significantly affected the production of urokinase in these cells. The results from these studies suggest an important role for the Ets-2 protein in heart development and may contribute to a better understanding of the inductive factors present in the heart which facilitate the normal morphogenesis of this organ.

Induction of endocardial cushion tissue in the avian heart is regulated, in part, by TGFbeta-3-mediated autocrine signaling

Valvuloseptal morphogenesis of the primitive heart tube into a four-chambered organ requires the formation of endocardial cushion tissue. The latter is the outcome of an inductive interaction in which endocardial (endothelial) cells are induced to transform into mesenchyme by paracrine signals secreted by the adjacent myocardium. In this study, we propose that transforming endothelial/mesenchymal cells themselves secrete a factor-TGFbeta-3-that functions in an autocrine mode to promote/sustain mesenchyme formation and possibly in a paracrine manner to amplify the original (myocardial) inductive event. Cushion mesenchyme-conditioned medium, previously demonstrated to be an endogenous source of autocrine, migration-promoting factors, was found in the present study to contain TGFbeta-3, as detected by immunoblot analysis. Immunoneutralization of TGFbeta-3 in preparations of cushion mesenchyme-conditioned medium resulted in a failure of treated target endocardial cells to migrate as mesenchyme, whereas inclusion of a control antibody did not inhibit the migration-promoting activity of the conditioned medium. Similar to treatment with the conditioned medium, direct addition of TGFbeta-3 to target endocardial cells also elicited invasive migration but only in cultures which had been activated in vivo by inductive interaction with the myocardium prior to treatment. Selective inhibition of TGFbeta-3-mediated autocrine signaling in continuous cocultures of endocardium plus myocardium resulted in endocardial cells which did not migrate, even though they had expressed early markers associated with endocardial cell activation (e.g., alpha-smooth muscle actin, ES/130, and TGFbeta-3). Collectively, these results suggest that (i) two signaling pathways, myocardial and endocardial, are required to start and complete epithelial-mesenchymal transformation in cushion-forming regions of the heart and (ii) the endocardial pathway signals through iteration of TGFbeta-3 and is not functionally redundant to the myocardial pathway.

Partial purification of HLAMP-1 provides direct evidence for the multicomponent nature of the particulate matrix associated with cardiac mesenchyme formation

H-LAMP-1 is a 283 kDa protein that is involved in the transformation of endothelial cells into mesenchyme within the AV canal and proximal outflow tract of the heart. This protein is part of the particulate matrix that has been suggested to be composed of multicomponent complexes that have been termed cardiac adherons. However, to date no direct evidence has been provided that these proteins are complexed into an adheron-like particle. This report provides the first such evidence by showing that purification of hLAMP-1, under gentle conditions, results in the isolation of multiple bands of similar molecular weight within the fractions that contain anti-hLAMP-1 activity.

Expression of smooth muscle alpha-actin in mesenchymal cells during formation of avian endocardial cushion tissue: a role for transforming growth factor beta3

During early cardiac morphogenesis, outflow tract (OT) and atrio-ventricular (AV) endothelial cells differentiate into mesenchymal cells, which have characteristics of smooth muscle-like myofibroblasts, and which form endocardial cushion tissue, the primordia of valves, and septa in the adult heart. During this embryonic event, transforming growth factor beta3 (TGF beta3) is an essential element in the progression of endothelial-transformation into mesenchyme. TGF beta(s) are known to be a potent inducer for mesodermal differentiation and a promoter for differentiation of endothelial cells into smooth muscle-like cells. Using a monoclonal antibody against smooth muscle-specific alpha-actin (SMA), we examined the immunohistochemical staining of this form of actin in avian endocardial cushion tissue formation. To determine whether TGF beta3 initiates the expression of SMA, the pre-migratory AV endothelial monolayer was cultured with or without chicken recombinant TGF beta3 and the expression of SMA was examined immunochemically. Migrating mesenchymal cells expressed SMA beneath the cell surface membrane. These cells showed a reduction of endothelial specific marker antigen, QH1. Stationary endothelial cells did not express SMA. The deposition of SMA in the mesenchymal tissue persisted until the end of the fetal period. Pre-migratory endothelial cells cultured in complete medium (CM199) that contained TGF beta3 expressed SMA, whereas cells cultured in CM199 alone did not. At the onset of the endothelial-mesenchymal transformation, migrating mesenchymal cells express SMA and the expression of this form of actin is upregulated by TGF beta3. The induction of the expression of SMA by TGF beta3 is one of the initial events in the cytoskeletal reorganization in endothelial cells which separate from one another during the initial phenotypic change associated with the endothelial-mesenchymal transformation.

Extracellular fibrillar structure of latent TGF beta binding protein-1: role in TGF beta-dependent endothelial-mesenchymal transformation during endocardial cushion tissue formation in mouse embryonic heart

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF beta) is a dimeric peptide growth factor which regulates cellular differentiation and proliferation during development. Most cells secrete TGF beta as a large latent TGF beta complex containing mature TGF beta, latency associated peptide, and latent TGF beta-binding protein (LTBP)-1. The biological role of LTBP-1 in development remains unclear. Using a polyclonal antiserum specific for LTBP-1 (Ab39) and three-dimensional collagen gel culture assay of embryonic heart, we examined the tissue distribution of LTBP-1 and its functional role during the formation of endocardial cushion tissue in the mouse embryonic heart. Mature TGF beta protein was required at the onset of the endothelial-mesenchymal transformation to initiate endocardial cushion tissue formation. Double antibody staining showed that LTBP-1 colocalized with TGF beta 1 as an extracellular fibrillar structure surrounding the endocardial cushion mesenchymal cells. Immunogold electronmicroscopy showed that LTBP-1 localized to 40-100 nm extracellular fibrillar structure and 5-10-nm microfibrils. The anti-LTBP-1 antiserum (Ab39) inhibited the endothelial-mesenchymal transformation in atrio-ventricular endocardial cells cocultured with associated myocardium on a three-dimensional collagen gel lattice. This inhibitory effect was reversed by administration of mature TGF beta proteins in culture. These results suggest that LTBP-1 exists as an extracellular fibrillar structure and plays a role in the storage of TGF beta as a large latent TGF beta complex.

Endocardial cushion development and heart loop architecture in the trisomy 16 mouse

Murine trisomy 16 (Ts16) is a model for Down's syndrome and has close to a 100% incidence of atrioventricular septal defects (AVSDs). These have been proposed to result from abnormal development of the endocardial cushions, but the mechanisms are unknown. We aim to identify the initial defects in Ts16 hearts, both to characterise the pathogenesis of AVSDs and as a first step in the search for molecular mechanisms. In 38 litters from an Rb(11.16)2H/Rb(16.17)7Bnr x C57BL/6J cross, which was examined on days 10 and 11 of gestation, 28.4% of embryos were trisomic. Trisomic embryos were uniformly retarded compared to their normal litter mates, having on average 3.3 fewer somite pairs. All further comparisons were made between embryos of the same somitic stage. Twenty-one trisomic and 21 normal embryos of between 15 and 43 somites were serially sectioned, and stereomorphometric methods were used to reconstruct the volumes of the endocardial cushions and to count their number of mesenchymal cells. There were fewer cells in Ts16 superior and inferior cushions. In contrast, the volumes of trisomic cushions were significantly greater than normal. Thus, cell density was markedly lower in trisomic cushions. Importantly, the volumes of the cushions in trisomic embryos were already greater than normal at the 18 somite stage, prior to the invasion of cushions by mesenchymal cells. The architecture of Ts16 heart tubes in 15-25 somite embryos was subtly abnormal. This was reflected in the angle between the axis of the atrioventricular canal and the first pharyngeal cleft, which was significantly larger in trisomic hearts and showed a different relationship to somite stage when compared to normal embryos. These observations suggest that the primary cardiac defect in Ts16 mice may be localised to the myocardium, thus influencing the shape of the heart tube, with changes in the mesenchymal population of the endocardial cushions being later events. Whether AVSDs arise from one or both of these abnormalities remains to be established.

Latent transforming growth factor-beta is present in the extracellular matrix of embryonic hearts in situ

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) is an important regulator of development. In vitro, TGF-beta is secreted in a latent, inactive form and can be activated by pH extremes, chaotropic agents, or cell-surface proteases. However, there is little evidence for the existence of latent TGF-beta in vivo. In this study, we determined whether (1) cultured embryonic cardiac segments secrete latent or active TGF-beta, (2) binding of TGF-beta antibody to TGF-beta was conformation-dependent (i.e., active vs. latent), and (3) immunostaining of embryonic hearts changed after exposure to activating conditions. Only latent TGF-beta 3 (acid activatable) was detected in conditioned medium of stage 14-16 chick cardiac segments as measured by a growth inhibition bioassay. No growth-inhibitory activity was present in nonacidified control medium. When blotted onto a membrane, only transiently acidified conditioned medium bound TGF-beta antibody. These data showed that cardiac segments secrete latent TGF-beta which binds with antibody if activated. To determine if antibody binding to tissue sections required exposure to TGF-beta-activating conditions, stage 14-16 embryos were fixed and sectioned under conditions that maximally retained extracellular matrix (ECM). Under these conditions, immunostaining was found in the myocardium but not in the endocardium or cardiac ECM. Limited immunostaining was found in other areas of the embryo and was always cell-associated. In addition to the above staining, when tissue sections were exposed to TGF-beta activating conditions, immunopositive staining was present within most of the embryonic ECM including the cardiac ECM. All immunostaining was blocked by preabsorption with TGF-beta 3 protein. These data suggest that active TGF-beta has a very limited distribution while latent TGF-beta is more abundant in embryonic ECM. Therefore, in vivo activation of TGF-beta may play an important role in mediating the expression of TGF-beta function during development.

Ubiquitin-protein conjugates selectively distribute during early chicken embryogenesis

The major mechanism for proteolysis in eucaryotes involves an ATP-dependent pathway for which the covalent attachment of ubiquitin targets proteins for degradation. The involvement of ubiquitin conjugation in early embryonic vertebrate development was investigated by examining the amounts and localization of ubiquitin conjugates at different stages of development in the chicken using an affinity-purified antibody specific for conjugated ubiquitin. Solid phase immunochemical assays measuring whole embryo pools of free and conjugated ubiquitin demonstrated a progressive increase in conjugate pools to stage 18, followed by a decline to stage 24. In contrast, levels of free polypeptide showed a dramatic increase after stage 5, indicating a change in the dynamics of the two pools during development. Immunohistochemistry revealed that the distribution of ubiquitin adducts between stages 3 and 22 was pronounced in regions undergoing extensive cellular remodeling. Ubiquitin conjugates were detected in the primitive streak where cells ingress during gastrulation. The presence of these degradative intermediates in both neuroectodermal cells of the neural folds and subsequent neural crest cells migrating from the dorsum of the neural tube is consistent with an involvement in key morphogenetic events. The localization of ubiquitin conjugates at other selected tissue interfaces including limb bud ectoderm/mesoderm, and cardiac atrioventricular myocardium/endothelium suggests an active role for ubiquitin-mediated protein modification in similar developmental interactions. Conjugates were distributed first between somites, then in myotomes with a pattern spatially identical that of the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme, E214K, the major cognate isozyme for isopeptide ligase (E3)-dependent degradation. The potential involvement of ubiquitin conjugation at sites of epithelial-mesenchymal associations was further analyzed in culture using atrioventricular canal (AV) endothelium. Immunoreactivity was abundant in cells immediately prior to and during their transformation into mesenchyme. Collectively, the specific temporal and spatial changes in ubiquitin conjugates during early vertebrate development suggest a regulatory role for this degradative pathway in the cellular remodeling accompanying embryonic growth and differentiation.

The extracellular matrix during heart development

The embryonic extracellular matrix, which is comprised of glycosaminoglycans, glycoproteins, collagens, and proteoglycans, is believed to play multiple roles during heart morphogenesis. Some of these ECM components appear throughout development, however, certain molecules exhibit an interesting transient spatial and temporal distribution. Due to significant new data that have been gathered predominantly in the past 10 years, a comprehensive review of the literature is needed. The intent of this review is to highlight work that addresses mechanisms by which extracellular matrix influences vertebrate heart development.

Mechanisms of cell transformation in the embryonic heart

The process of cell transformation in the heart is a complex one. By use of the invasion bioassay, we have been able to identify several critical components of the cell transformation process in the heart. TGF beta 3 can be visualized as a switch in the environment that contributes to the initial process of cell transformation. Our data show that it is a critical switch in the transformation process. Even so, it is apparently only one of the factors involved. Others may include other TGF beta family members, the ES antigens described by Markwald and co-workers and additional unknown substances. Observing the sensitivity of the process to pertussis toxin, there is likely to be a G-protein-linked receptor involved, yet we have not identified a known ligand for this type of receptor. Clearly, there are several different signal transduction processes involved. The existence of multiple pathways is consistent with the idea that the target endothelial cells receive a variety of environmental imputs, the sum of which will produce cell transformation at the correct time and place. Adjacent endothelial cells of the ventricle that do not undergo cell transformation are apparently refractory to one or more of the stimuli. Figure 4 depicts a summary diagram of this invasion process with localization of most of the molecules mentioned in this narrative. As hypothesized here, elements of the transformation process may recapitulate aspects of gastrulation. Since some conservation of mechanism is expected in cells, it is not surprising that cells undergoing phenotypic change might reutilize mechanisms used previously to produce mesenchyme from the blastodisk. Though we have preliminary data to suggest this point, confirmation of the hypothesis by perturbation of genes such as brachyury, msx-1, etc. will be required to establish this point. The advantage of this hypothesis is that it provides, from the work of others in the area of gastrulation, a ready source of molecules and mechanisms that can be tested in the transforming heart. Whereas, perturbation of such mechanisms at gastrulation may be lethal to the embryo, such molecules and mechanisms may be responsible for the high incidence of birth defects in the heart.

NCAM polypeptides in heart development: association with Z discs of forms that contain the muscle-specific domain

Previous studies of neural cell adhesion molecule (NCAM) cDNAs have revealed an alternatively spliced set of small exons (12A, 12B, 12C, and 12D) that encode a region in the extracellular portion of the molecule known as the muscle-specific domain (MSD). The entire MSD region can be expressed in skeletal muscle, heart, and skin; only exons 12A and 12D have been found in brain. These studies did not reveal which NCAM polypeptides contain the MSD region or the immunohistochemical distribution of these NCAM molecules. To address these questions, we prepared antibodies against the oligopeptides encoded by exons 12A and 12B and by exons 12C and 12D, and we used these antibodies to study the forms of NCAM containing the MSD region expressed during embryonic chicken heart development. These antibodies recognize certain forms of NCAM found in the heart, but they do not recognize brain NCAM. In the heart, each of the splice variants of NCAM (large cytoplasmic domain, small cytoplasmic domain, and small surface domain) that differ in their mode of attachment to the plasma membrane or in the size of their cytoplasmic domain is expressed in a form that contains and in a form that lacks the MSD region. No microheterogeneity is observed in the size of NCAM molecules containing the MSD region, even at the level of cyanogen bromide fragments, suggesting that exons 12A-D are expressed as a single unit. Depending on the site and the stage of development, the percent of NCAM molecules containing the MSD region can vary from nearly 0 to 100%. In general, this percentage increases during development. In immunohistochemical studies of hearts from stage 18 embryos, forms of NCAM containing the MSD region colocalized with Z discs. No other adhesion molecules were found in this distribution at this early stage of development. Studies on isolated cells in vitro demonstrate that the colocalization with Z discs of NCAM molecules containing the MSD region does not depend on cell-cell contact, and they raise the possibility that this form of NCAM is involved in cell-extracellular matrix interactions. The association of NCAM molecules containing the MSD region with Z discs suggests that this form of NCAM is involved in early myofibrillogenesis.

Identification of transferrin as one of multiple EDTA-extractable extracellular proteins involved in early chick heart morphogenesis

It was demonstrated previously that a polyclonal antibody (ES1) raised against EDTA extractable proteins from embryonic chicken heart blocks cardiac endothelial-mesenchymal transformation in a culture bioassay and stains extracellular matrix at sites of embryonic inductive interactions, e.g., developing heart, limb buds, and neural crest forming region [Krug et al., 1987, Dev Biol 120:348-355; Mjaatvedt et al., 1991, Dev Biol 145:219-230). In the present study, by using an antiserum (ES3) to a similar immunogen, we affinity purified four major EDTA-soluble proteins. These proteins migrated as 27, 44, 63, and 70 kD molecules under reduced conditions and 27, 41, 52, and 59 kD under nonreduced conditions, respectively, on SDS-PAGE. Based on several criteria, the protein migrating at 70/59 kD (reduced/nonreduced) was indistinguishable from chicken transferrin (conalbumin): 1) amino acid sequencing showed that eight N-terminal residues were identical to those of chicken transferrin, 2) acid hydrolysates of both proteins had nearly identical compositions, 3) the protein co-migrated exactly with chicken transferrin under both reduced and nonreduced conditions, and 4) ES3 IgG recognized both the 70/59 kD protein and chicken transferrin by western blot analysis of nonreduced samples, but not with reduced samples. Immunohistochemistry of chicken embryonic heart with antibodies against transferrin demonstrated that anti-transferrin immunoreactivity is present in myocardium but absent in cardiac endothelium before the initiation of cardiac endothelial-mesenchymal formation. However, both cardiac endothelium and migrating mesenchymal cells became immunoreactive with anti-transferrin at the time transformation occurred. These findings suggest a possible involvement of transferrin in the inductive process of cardiac endothelial-mesenchymal transformation.

Expression and accumulation of interstitial collagen in the neonatal rat heart

Significant physiological changes occur in the heart following birth including increased arterial blood pressure and heart rate. Concurrently, biochemical and structural alterations are evident in the neonatal heart in response to these dynamic physiological properties. Prominent among these is the elaborate development of the cardiac extracellular matrix, composed primarily of interstitial collagen. The collagenous fibers, together with other matrix components, form an elastic, stress-tolerant network which functions in the dissipation of force throughout the heart wall. The present studies have used biochemical and molecular techniques to show the temporal and spatial patterns of interstitial collagen accumulation and expression during late fetal and neonatal development of the rat heart. The use of biochemical and particularly molecular methodologies allows the analysis of the expression of matrix components at a resolution previously not attained by structural studies alone. These data show relative increases in interstitial collagen immediately following birth as well as spatial differences in collagen mRNAs within the heart. The data presented provide further evidence for a role of mechanical stimulation in the regulation of collagen gene expression during this period of heart development.

Expression of homeobox genes Msx-1 (Hox-7) and Msx-2 (Hox-8) during cardiac development in the chick

The vertebrate homeobox genes Msx-1 and Msx-2 are related to the Drosophila msh gene and are expressed in a variety of tissues during embryogenesis. We have examined their expression by in situ hybridisation during critical stages of cardiac development in the chick from stages 15+ to 37. Msx-1 expression is apparent in a number of non-myocardial cell populations, including cells undergoing an epithelial to mesenchymal transformation in the atrioventricular and the outflow tract regions that play an integral role in heart septation and valve formation. Msx-2 expression is restricted to a distinct subpopulation of myocardial cells that, in later stages, coincides morphologically with the cardiac conduction system. The timing of Msx-2 expression suggests that it plays a role in conduction system tissue formation and that it identifies precursor cells of this specialised myocardium. The pattern of Msx-2 expression is discussed with reference to current models of conduction tissue development.

Expression of collagenase and IL-1 alpha in developing rat hearts

During development, extracellular matrix (ECM) molecules are thought to play a major role in regulating the formation of the heart. The change in the heart from a simple tube to a complex, four-chambered organ requires the modification of both the cellular components as well as the surrounding ECM. Matrix metalloproteinases (MMP), which include collagenases, are enzymes present in the ECM that have the potential to modify the existing ECM during the development of the heart. Using both monoclonal and polyclonal antisera against collagenase, specific temporal and spatial patterns have been documented during critical periods of heart development. The cytokine interleukin 1 alpha (IL-1 alpha), a potent inducer of the MMP expression, was also shown to have a similar staining pattern in the developing heart. The monoclonal anti-rat collagenase (Mab) intensely stained the surfaces of the myocytes in the trabeculae and the ventricular and atrial walls of the 11.5 or 12.5 embryonic day (ED) rat hearts. In contrast, the polyclonal anti-human collagenase (Pab) stained not only the cardiomyocytes but also the hypertrophic endocardial cells. Pab appeared to stain the leading edge of the mesenchymal cells that migrate into the cardiac jelly of the 11.5 or 12.5 ED hearts. Immunohistochemical staining showed IL-1 alpha on the endocardial endothelium and the surface of cardiomyocytes near the cardiac jelly just before or coincident with the appearance of migrating cells. IL-1 alpha was detected on the endocardial endothelium, cardiomyocytes in the trabeculae, and the ventricular and atrial walls, as well as in the myocardial basement membrane of the truncal or atrioventricular region. However, no staining could be detected on the migrating cells in the cardiac cushions. These results indicate the presence of collagenase and IL-1 alpha on the surface of cardiomyocytes and mesenchymal cells at times when the heart is undergoing acute remodeling during septation and trabeculation. These data suggest a role for collagenase/cytokine interaction in tissue remodeling during critical stages of cardiac embryogenesis where modification of the ECM is essential to cardiac morphogenesis.

TGF-beta 3-mediated tissue interaction during embryonic heart development

A critical process during early heart development is the formation of mesenchymal cells which will contribute to valves and septa of the mature heart. These cells arise by an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation of endothelial cells in the atrioventricular (AV) canal and outflow tract areas of the heart. Adjacent endothelial cells in the atrium and ventricle remain epithelial. A three-dimensional collagen gel culture system has been exploited to examine the interactions that mediate this transformation. The AV canal myocardium produces a stimulus that is transmitted through an intervening extracellular matrix to the AV canal endothelium. This interaction is regionally specific, such that ventricular myocardium does not provide an adequate stimulus and ventricular endothelium does not respond to the AV canal myocardial stimulus. Exogenous TGF-beta 1 (or TGF-beta 2) can complement ventricular myocardium to produce transformation by AV canal endothelium. A blocking antibody, effective against several TGF-beta, prevents cell transformation. To identify the specific member of the TGF-beta family that functions in situ, antisense oligonucleotides for each of the numbered TGF-beta were topically added to AV canal explant cultures. Only the oligonucleotide targeted to TGF-beta 3 was an effective inhibitor of mesenchymal cell formation. Studies have been undertaken to localize specific mRNas by in situ hybridization and RNase protection assays. These assays have concentrated on the regional and temporal appearance of TGF-beta 2 and 3. Surprisingly, RNase protection assays with a TGF-beta 3 sense probe showed the presence of a transcript complementary to TGF-beta 3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Fibulin is localized at sites of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions in the early avian embryo

Fibulin is a 100-kDa calcium-binding, extracellular matrix (ECM), and plasma glycoprotein (Argraves et al., Cell 58, pp. 623-629, 1989; Argraves et al., J. Cell Biol. 111, 3155-3164). Immunoprecipitation analysis showed that antibodies against human fibulin react with an avian isoform (M(r) 100,000). The spatial and temporal distribution of fibulin was examined in the early avian embryo using immunofluorescence microscopy. In stage 15-22 quail embryos fibulin is a constituent of most basement membranes. Areas undergoing epithelial-mesenchymal transitions such as the endocardial cushions, developing myotomes, and neural crest display especially prominent immunostaining. In the early heart fibulin expression was most pronounced in the cardiac jelly at sites where endocardial cushion cells begin the migrations that lead to the formation of valvular and septal primordia. Laser scanning confocal microscopy showed extensive extracellular accumulations of fibulin on the surface of endocardial mesenchyme cells that were motile at the time of fixation (stage 19). These data suggest that enhanced deposition of fibulin at sites of epithelial-mesenchymal transitions may influence cell behavior.

Sense and antisense TGF beta 3 mRNA levels correlate with cardiac valve induction

The formation of the valves in the heart is a spatially and temporally controlled process. A tissue interaction between the endothelium and its adjacent myocardium initiates the transformation of the endothelium into the mesenchymal precursors of the heart valve. One or more of the molecules implicated as critical for valve formation are members of the transforming growth factor beta family of molecules. Presented here is a spatial and temporal analysis of TGF beta 2 and TGF beta 3 in the chick heart during valve formation. We show that TGF beta 3 mRNA is concentrated in AV canal tissue where valve formation will occur, consistent with previous observations that TGF beta 3 production is critical during valve formation. Additionally, an RNA complementary to TGF beta 3 encoding mRNA is present in the heart. The temporally controlled appearance of RNA complementary to TGF beta 3 suggests that this molecule may play a role in the regulation of TGF beta 3 production in the heart.

Multiple glycoproteins localize to a particulate form of extracellular matrix in regions of the embryonic heart where endothelial cells transform into mesenchyme

Cells derived from an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation within the atrioventricular canal and outflow tract are involved in the partitioning of the early embryonic heart into a four-chambered organ. This transformation process has been shown to proceed from an inductive interaction between the myocardium and competent, target endothelial cells within these regions of the heart. Interestingly, immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of fibronectin-positive particulates within the matrix of mesenchyme-forming regions (Mjaatvedt et al., 1987). This particulate matrix is extractable by EDTA and can elicit the epithelial-mesenchymal transformation in culture (Mjaatvedt and Markwald, 1989). Analysis of EDTA extracts of embryonic heart tissue revealed the presence of fibronectin and about 40 unidentified proteins, 6 of which appeared to be enriched in the biologically active 100,000g pellet fraction (Mjaatvedt and Markwald, 1989). Based on these and other data we have proposed that the particulate matrix is composed of a multicomponent complex of fibronectin and one or more of the low-molecular-weight proteins in this pellet. The purpose of the present study was to begin a biochemical characterization of the nonfibronectin proteins thought to be present in the matrix particulates. Given that many matrix constituents are glycoproteins, lectins were used to initially characterize the particulate constituents. Of the lectins tested, soybean agglutinin (SBA) was found to be specific only for matrix particulates. Histochemical analyses showed that SBA and antibodies against fibronectin colocalized regionally and temporally to the same matrix particulates in embryonic heart tissue.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Cardiac looping in the chick embryo: the role of the posterior precardiac mesoderm

Grafts of mesoderm taken from the precardiac region of quail embryos of stages 5-7 were inserted into the precardiac mesoderm of chick embryos of stages 5-7. The experiments were of four types and were code named to indicate the origin and the destination of the graft. QACP: tissue from the anterior end of the quail precardiac area was inserted into the posterior end of the chick precardiac mesoderm; QPCA: tissue from the posterior end of the quail precardiac area was inserted into the anterior end of the chick precardiac mesoderm; QACA: tissue from the anterior end of the quail precardiac area was inserted into the anterior end of the chick precardiac mesoderm; QPCP: tissue from the posterior end of the quail precardiac area was inserted into the posterior end of the chick precardiac mesoderm. In no case was precardiac tissue removed from the host. Three main-types of anomaly were obtained: inverted hearts, in which looping took place to the left rather than to the right; compact hearts, in which no looping occurred, and hearts in which extra tissues or regions were apparent. The incidence of compact hearts was significantly greater with QPCA than with any other category of experiment. When older donors were used (stages 8-9), the incidence of compact hearts fell. No variations in the origin of the graft, nor in its ultimate destination in the host, were found to affect the frequency of any of the anomalies. Sections showed that quail hearts tended to have thicker walls than chick hearts; although quail tissues were often incorporated into the host chick hearts, they retained the histological characteristics of the donors. The fact that no compact hearts resulted from the experiment QACA, or from the mock operations, leads us to conclude that failure to loop in the compact hearts was not due to mechanical trauma caused by the operation, but to some specific difference between grafts taken from the anterior and posterior precardiac mesoderm. The fact that compact hearts were obtained when chick donors were used instead of quails, shows that the effect is not species-specific. We propose that a morphogen is secreted by the posterior end of the precardiac mesoderm and this plays a role in controlling the cessation of looping.

Effects of injecting fibronectin and antifibronectin antibodies on cushion mesenchyme formation in the chick. An in vivo study

During heart development in the chick some of the endocardial cells that cover the cushion areas leave the cushion endocardium, seed the underlying cardiac jelly, and are transformed into mesenchyme. Cushion mesenchymal (CM) cells migrate from the endocardium toward the myocardium using the cardiac jelly as substratum. Developing cushions have been microinjected with fibronectin (FN), antifibronectin antibodies (AbFN), and four synthetic peptide probes. Two of these peptides (P7 and P10) contained the sequence Arg-Gly-Asp-Ser (RGDS), while the other two (P15 and PColl) did not. Cushion area, individual cell area, cell density, cell orientation and a factor of form were evaluated in both experimental and control cushions. CM cell migration was inhibited by FN and AbFN, only partially inhibited by P10 and unaffected by P7. Cushions injected with P15 and PColl were unaffected. These results can be explained by steric modifications of the extracellular matrix, that may render cardiac jelly nonpermissive for CM cell migration, or by interaction of the substances injected at the endocardial cell surface. Migrating CM cells do not present any preferential orientation in any particular direction. CM cell migration seems to depend upon intrinsic migratory behaviour and the presence of FN at the CM cell surface. The enforcement of the direction of CM cell migration does not appear to rely upon matrix signals but be the result of randomly migrating cells becoming distributed more evenly in the matrix.

An antiserum (ES1) against a particulate form of extracellular matrix blocks the transition of cardiac endothelium into mesenchyme in culture

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition of cardiac endothelium is a critical developmental event in the formation of valvular and septal anlagen. We have demonstrated previously that this event can be mimicked in culture by treating atrioventricular canal (AV) endothelium with EDTA-soluble proteins extracted from embryonic heart tissue. This activity was fractionated by ultracentrifugation of the EDTA extract, indicating that the critical proteins existed as a multicomponent complex. Based on these results we propose that: (1) the in vitro particulates in EDTA extracts correspond to an observed particulate form of extracellular matrix within the myocardial basement membrane (MBM) of mesenchyme-forming regions and (2) one or more of the proteins in the MBM particulates function to elicit the epithelial-mesenchymal transition. To test these hypotheses we utilized an antiserum, termed ES1, prepared against EDTA-extractable particulates from embryonic chick hearts. Both ES1 and an anti-fibronectin monoclonal antibody (M3H) co-localized in situ to particles within the MBM; however, no ES1 reactivity towards fibronectin could be detected by ELISA or immunoblot analysis. The ES1-positive MBM particulates were removed by extraction with EDTA, but not with PBS, indicating a divalent cation-mediated association of the constituent proteins. ES1 antibodies recognized two major (28 and 46 kDa) and three minor (93, 109, and 180 kDa) proteins on immunoblots of EDTA-extractable proteins. When tested in culture, ES1 antiserum inhibited the formation of mesenchyme from AV endothelium in a dose-dependent manner, while M3H did not. These results are consistent with an active role for one or more of the ES1 antigens in initiating the formation of AV mesenchyme. The localization of ES1 antigens to the extracellular matrix at other dynamic interfaces, e.g., ectoderm/neural tube and limb bud ectoderm/mesoderm, point to a potentially general importance of ES1 antigens in mediating similar developmental interactions.

Expression of type VIII collagen during morphogenesis of the chicken and mouse heart

The expression of type VIII collagen is restricted, in adult mammals, to specialized extracellular matrices and to a select subset of blood vessels. We have examined the distribution of type VIII collagen in sequential stages of mouse and chicken embryos and found a temporal and spatially restricted pattern of expression during cardiogenesis. Type VIII collagen was first detected by immunocytochemistry on Day 11 in the developing mouse embryo and at stage 19 in the chicken embryo. The distribution of this protein was rapidly modulated during cardiac morphogenesis. Initially (Day 11 in the mouse embryo), type VIII collagen was associated with cardiac myoblasts. From Days 15 to 18, the immunoreactive component was progressively diminished in the myocardium; however, this collagen was observed in the subendocardial layer of the atrioventricular canal and later in the cardiac jelly (or the myocardial basement membrane, an area associated with the formation of cardiac valves). On Day 17, type VIII collagen was also detected in the subendothelium (intima) and tunica media of large vessels. Neonatal and adult hearts contained low to undetectable levels of type VIII collagen. The presence of type VIII collagen was confirmed by immunoblot analysis of heart extracts at different stages of development. A major 185-kDa component, as well as polypeptides of 68 and 15 kDa, reacted with anti-type VIII collagen IgG. Exposure of heart extracts to hyaluronidase or reducing agent eliminated immunoreactivity of the 185-kDa component but not that of the 68- and 15-kDa polypeptides. Type VIII collagen therefore appears to be associated with a hyaluronidase-sensitive component of the extracellular matrix during a temporally restricted stage of embryonic cardiogenesis. The contribution of this collagen to cardiac morphogenesis might reside, in part, in its ability to influence the differentiation of the myocardium and formation of the cardiac valves.

A comparison of fibronectin, laminin, and galactosyltransferase adhesion mechanisms during embryonic cardiac mesenchymal cell migration in vitro

Embryonic hearts contain a homogeneous population of mesenchymal cells which migrate through an extensive extracellular matrix (ECM) to become the earliest progenitors of the cardiac valves. Since these cells normally migrate through an ECM containing several adhesion substrates, this study was undertaken to examine and compare three ECM binding mechanisms for mesenchymal cell migration in an in vitro model. Receptor mechanisms for the ECM glycoproteins fibronectin (FN) and laminin (LM) and the cell surface receptor galactosyltransferase (GalTase), which binds an uncharacterized ECM substrate, were compared. Primary cardiac explants from stage 17 chick embryos were cultured on three-dimensional collagen gels. Mesenchymal cell outgrowth was recorded every 24 hr and is reported as a percentage of control. Migration was perturbed using specific inhibitors for each of the three receptor mechanisms. These included the hexapeptide GRGDSP (300-1000 micrograms/ml), which mimics a cell binding domain of FN, the pentapeptide YIGSR (300-1000 micrograms/ml), which mimics a binding domain of LM, and alpha-lactalbumin (1-10 mg/ml), a protein modifier of GalTase activity. The functional role of these adhesion mechanisms was further tested using antibodies to avian integrin (JG22) and avian GalTase. While the FN-related peptide had no significant effect on cell migration it did produce a rounded cellular morphology. The LN-related peptide inhibited mesenchymal migration 70% and alpha-lactalbumin inhibited cell migration 50%. Antibodies against integrin and GalTase inhibited mesenchymal cell migration by 80 and 50%, respectively. The substrate for GalTase was demonstrated to be a single high molecular weight substrate which was not LM or FN. Control peptides, proteins and antibodies demonstrated the specificity of these effects. These data demonstrate that multiple adhesion mechanisms, including cell surface GalTase, are potentially functional during cardiac mesenchymal cell migration. The sensitivity of cell migration to the various inhibitors suggests that occupancy of specific ECM receptors can modulate the activity of other, unrelated, ECM adhesion mechanisms utilized by these cells.

Type VIII collagen in murine development. Association with capillary formation in vitro

Bovine endothelial and human astrocytoma cells, and a limited number of other normal and malignant cells, synthesize three chains that have been identified as type VIII collagen (180 kDa, 125 kDa, and 100 kDa). Digestion with pepsin converts these forms to major fragments of 65 kD (based on globular protein standards). In this study we have examined the structure and distribution of type VIII collagen in developing mice by immunohistological and immunoblotting techniques. Temporal and tissue-specific expression was observed in embryonic heart, cranial mesenchyme, and placental capillaries. Western blotting of embryonic and neonatal tissues showed major species of 125 and 65 kDa in the brain, placenta, heart, lung, and thymus. The predominant band in pepsin-treated tissues was 60-70 kDa, with additional forms of 250 and 150 kDa in neonatal heart and lung. Type VIII collagen was also synthesized by endothelial cells, forming capillary tubes in vitro. We suggest that type VIII collagen functions in cellular organization and differentiation, and that its various forms reflect not only tissue-specific processing but the presence of several related chains.

Signal transduction of a tissue interaction during embryonic heart development

During early cardiac development, progenitors of the valves and septa of the heart are formed by an epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation of endothelial cells of the atrioventricular (AV) canal. We have previously shown that this event is due to an interaction between the endothelium and products of the myocardium found within the extracellular matrix. The present study examines signal transduction mechanisms governing this differentiation of AV canal endothelium. Activators of protein kinase C (PKC), phorbol myristate acetate (PMA) and mezerein, both produced an incomplete phenotypic transformation of endothelial cells in an in vitro bioassay for transformation. On the other hand, inhibitors of PKC (H-7 and staurosporine) and tyrosine kinase (genistein) blocked cellular transformation in response to the native myocardium or a myocardially-conditioned medium. Intracellular free calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) was measured in single endothelial cells by microscopic digital analysis of fura 2 fluorescence. Addition of a myocardial conditioned medium containing the transforming stimulus produced a specific increase in [Ca2+]i in "competent" AV canal, but not ventricular, endothelial cells. Epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation was inhibited by pertussis toxin but not cholera toxin. These data lead to the hypothesis that signal transduction of this tissue interaction is mediated by a G protein and one or more kinase activities. In response to receptor activation, competent AV canal endothelial cells demonstrate an increase in [Ca2+]i. Together, the data provide direct evidence for a regional and temporal regulation of signal transduction processes which mediate a specific extracellular matrix-mediated tissue interaction in the embryo.

Induction of an epithelial-mesenchymal transition by an in vivo adheron-like complex

The embryonic vertebrate heart consists of two epithelia: the myocardium and endothelium, separated by the myocardial basement membrane (MBM). The myocardium has been shown to induce endothelial transformation into prevalvular mesenchyme in a temporally and site restricted manner. Previously, we hypothesized that the myocardial-endothelial interaction is mediated in vivo by aggregates of 30-nm particles in the MBM which can be removed by EDTA extraction. These MBM extracts contain fibronectin and other lower Mr proteins and can initiate an epithelial-mesenchymal transition in the AV (atrioventricular canal) endothelium of embryonic chick heart in collagen gel culture. These and other data suggested that the 30-nm multicomponent particles are similar, structurally and compositionally, to multimolecular complexes, termed adherons, secreted by L6 muscle cells in culture. The purpose of this study was to (1) test whether the removal of the 30-nm particles from MBM extracts of embryonic chick hearts would remove the in vitro biological activity and (2) determine if the fractionated MBM extracts can cause AV endothelial cells to follow the same differentiation pathway observed in vivo by monitoring immunohistochemically the cell surface expression of N-CAM. Results showed that centrifugation of extract at 100,000g for 1 hr produced a supernatant fraction that was unable to initiate mesenchyme formation from AV endothelium. However, the resuspended pellet fraction did initiate differentiation of endothelium into mesenchyme. Conditioned medium from L6 skeletal muscle cultures could not substitute for the EDTA extract of embryonic heart. Endothelial cells undergoing the transition to form mesenchyme, both in vivo and in vitro, showed a concomitant decrease in N-CAM staining. This suggested that the pellet-induced formation of migrating cells in the collagen gels is not the result a novel in vitro phenomenon.

Epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation in the embryonic heart can be mediated, in part, by transforming growth factor beta

Progenitor cells of the valves and membranous septa of the vertebrate heart are formed by transformation of a specific population of endothelial cells into mesenchyme. Previous studies have shown that this epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation is mediated by a signal produced by the myocardium of the atrioventricular (AV) canal and transferred across the extracellular matrix. Data are presented here that transforming growth factor beta (TGF beta 1 or TGF beta 2), in combination with an explant of ventricular myocardium, will produce an epithelial-mesenchymal transformation by cultured AV canal endothelial cells in vitro. Alone, neither component is capable of producing this effect. The factor provided by the ventricular explant cannot be substituted by either epidermal growth factor or basic fibroblast growth factor. Further experiments show that an antibody that blocks TGF beta activity is effective in preventing the epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation normally produced by AV canal myocardium. Control antibodies are without effect. By immunological criteria, a member of the TGF beta family of molecules can be demonstrated in the chicken embryo and heart at the time overt valvular formation begins. Together, these data show that TGF beta 1 can produce mesenchymal cell formation in vitro and provide evidence that a member of the TGF beta family is present and plays a role in the process of epithelial-mesenchymal cell transformation in the embryonic heart.

Development of the aorta in the chick embryo: structural and ultrastructural study

A structural and ultrastructural study was designed to analyze systematically the cellular events which take place in the aortic wall between days 7 and 21 of chick embryo development. Between days 7 and 18, increase in total diameter, number of cell layers, and aortic wall thickness are highly correlated, whereas between days 18 and 21 the total diameter increase is correlated mainly with an increase in vessel lumen diameter. Cell layers of smooth muscle cells showing an immature or synthetic phenotype arise from progressive association and organization of mesenchymal cells originated from an endothelial activation process in which a hyaluronic acid-rich extracellular matrix seems to be involved. It is suggested that the process of endothelial activation takes place between days 7 and 18 of embryonic development provided that within that period the typical cellular events which are involved in such a process take place (hypertrophy, reorientation, invagination, mitotic activity, acquisition of migratory appendages, endothelial detachment and incorporation into adjacent spaces). This endothelial activation has been recognized as a selective multiphasic process required for the transition of endothelial cells into mesenchyma.

Acidic fibroblast growth factor mRNA is expressed by cardiac myocytes in culture and the protein is localized to the extracellular matrix

Acidic and basic fibroblast growth factors are heparin-binding proteins that induce cellular proliferation, mesodermal development, and vascular growth. As such, they may be important in cardiac development and disease. To determine whether cardiac myocytes contain fibroblast growth factors, neonatal rat cardiac myocytes were studied in primary culture and compared to primary cultures of nonmyocyte cardiac cells. Northern blot analysis revealed a 4.0-kilobase mRNA in myocytes that hybridized to acidic fibroblast growth factor cDNA and was not detectable in nonmyocyte cultures. Western blot analysis demonstrated the accumulation of a 15-kDa peptide with immunological identity to acidic fibroblast growth factor in extracts of extracellular matrix from myocyte cultures that was not detectable in similar extracts of nonmyocyte extracellular matrix. No acidic fibroblast growth factor-like protein was detectable in cellular lysates from either myocyte or nonmyocyte cultures. These results demonstrate that neonatal cardiac myocytes express acidic fibroblast growth factor mRNA and deposit a protein with immunological identity to acidic fibroblast growth factor into the extracellular matrix. The results suggest that acidic fibroblast growth factor produced by cardiac myocytes may mediate, through both paracrine and autocrine mechanisms, such diverse processes as myocyte differentiation, cellular proliferation, and vascular growth in the heart.

Lectin histochemistry of the embryonic heart: fucose-specific lectin binding sites in developing rats and chicks

Glycoconjugates, particularly their sugar side chains, play important roles in embryonic development. Changes in cell-surface-associated glycoconjugates are known to affect cell differentiation, cellular interactions, and other developmental phenomena during embryogenesis. The embryonic heart goes through a series of complicated morphologic events during development. Of particular interest is morphogenesis of the outflow tract. This region of the embryonic heart originates from more than one cell population and undergoes a complex process of septation during formation of the great vessels. Histochemical analysis with a series of fucose-specific lectins conjugated to horseradish peroxidase has revealed the presence of a fucosylated glycoconjugate in the outflow tract of the developing heart. The results reveal further that the expression of the fucosylated glycoconjugate is stage-dependent and thus probably genetically regulated. The timing and distribution of staining with the lectin OFA suggest that this fucosylated glycoconjugate may play a role in directing the migration of neural crest cells into the heart and subsequent formation of the conus septum.

Initial expression of type I procollagen in chick cardiac mesenchyme is dependent upon myocardial stimulation

Formation of the atrioventricular (AV) mesenchyme is a critical step in early heart development. Endothelial cells are activated and transformed into a mesenchymal population that invades the cell-free myocardial basement membrane. This process can be duplicated in collagen gel culture, where it has been established that myocardium or its secretory products activate the endothelium. The purpose of the present study was to determine when these activated endothelial and/or mesenchymal cells start producing type I collagen in situ. These results were compared to those obtained from a culture model of mesenchyme formation. The production of type I collagen was monitored using a monoclonal antibody (M38) that recognizes the carboxy-terminal propeptide of human type I procollagen. The initial expression of the latter within activated AV endothelial and mesenchymal cells in ovo was 48 hr following activation. Prior to this time, only the myocardium was reactive with M38. AV explants of early hearts on collagen gels revealed staining of activated endothelial and mesenchymal cells with M38 after 48 hr in coculture with myocardial tissue. Explants that were prevented from activating (myocardium removed) never expressed the M38 antigen. Similarly, AV endothelial monolayers grown in the presence of myocardial conditioned medium activated and expressed type I collagen after 48 hr in culture, whereas those grown in standard medium did not. These results establish the initial expression of type I collagen within activated AV endothelium and mesenchyme. In addition, the data suggest that the expression of type I collagen within the AV mesenchyme may be dependent on extrinsic influences that induce the AV endothelium to transform into mesenchyme.

Development of cardiac beat rate in early chick embryos is regulated by regional cues

The mesoderm of each of the paired lateral heart-forming regions (HFRs) in the stage 5-7 chick embryo includes prospective conus (pre-C), ventricle (pre-V), and sinoatrial (pre-SA) cells, arranged in a rostrocaudal sequence (C-V-SA). With microsurgery we divided each HFR into three rostrocaudally arranged segments. After 24 hr of further incubation, each segment differentiated into a spontaneously beating vesicle of heart tissue to form a multiheart embryo. The cardiac vesicles in these embryos expressed left-right and rostrocaudal beat rate gradients: the left caudal pre-SA mesoderm produced tissue with the fastest beat rate of the six while the rostral vesicle formed from right pre-C was the slowest. In another operation, we prevented the HFRs from fusing in the midline by cutting through the anterior intestinal portal at stage 8, to produce cardia bifida (CB) embryos with an independently beating half-heart on each side. In these cases, the left half-heart of 87.2% of CB embryos beat faster than the right, confirming the left-right difference in intrinsic beat rate. To assess whether the future beat rate of each region is already determined in the st 5-7 HFR, we exchanged rectangular fragments of left pre-SA mesoderm and attached endoderm with right pre-C fragments to yield a left HFR with the sequence C-V-C and a right HFR with the sequence SA-V-SA. A CB operation was subsequently performed on these exchange embryos to prevent fusion of the lateral HFRs. Preconus mesoderm, transplanted to the pre-SA region, differentiated into tissue with a rapid beat rate, while pre-SA mesoderm relocated to the preconus region formed heart tissue with a slow spontaneous rate typical of the conus. In 73% of the exchange CB embryos, the left half-heart beat faster than the right, despite the origins of its mesoderm. The exchanged mesoderm developed a rate that was appropriate for its new location rather than the site of origin of the mesodermal fragment. In a third set of operations, we implanted a fragment of st 15 differentiated conus tissue into a site lateral to the left caudal HFR in st 5, 6, and 7 embryos, and subsequently performed CB operations on them. The implant caused the adjacent half-heart to develop with a slower beat rate than in unoperated or sham-operated controls.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Specific configurations of fibronectin-containing particles correlate with pathways taken by neural crest cells at two axial levels

Although neural crest (NC) cells can potentially enter a number of intertissue spaces, they select a particular pathway that varies depending on the axial level. In the cranial region, NC cells enter the dorsal-lateral pathway (i.e., immediately subjacent to the ectoderm) and avoid the ventral pathway (i.e., pathway between the mesoderm and neural tube and within the mesodermal cell population), whereas in the trunk region, the majority of the NC cells enter the ventral pathway (i.e., between the somite and neural tube) and not the dorsal-lateral pathway. Our working hypothesis is that one determining factor in directing NC cell migration is the composition and/or intermolecular associations of the extracellular matrix (ECM) in these pathways. Histochemical staining, immunostaining, and lectin-binding studies on cryofixed and conventionally fixed tissue were conducted to initially characterize the ECM found in potential NC cell pathways prior to and during initial NC cell migration at two different axial levels. We found that, regardless of the axial level, the pathways into which NC cells eventually enter possessed a characteristic ECM arrangement. This arrangement included: 1) the presence of multicomponent, glycoprotein-containing spherical particles (0.1-0.5 micron in diameter); and 2) a low-sulfated ECM content. Although all particles contained fibronectin, only those in specific regions were able to bind to a monoclonal antibody directed to the cell-binding domain of fibronectin, suggesting that the conformation of fibronectin may be important in the expression of any in situ function of the molecule.

Origin and propagation of elastogenesis in the developing cardiovascular system

Ectomesenchyme derived from cardiac neural crest is critical to aorticopulmonary septation in the heart. However, any unique contribution of the cardiac ectomesenchyme to the extracellular matrix of the conotruncus has not been demonstrated previously. In this study the chronology and topography of soluble tropoelastin (STE) and the aldehyde-rich protein (ARP) of the elastic connective tissues have been examined in the chick embryo, stages 21-38, and in the quail-chick chimera, stages 24-35 (quail neural fold grafted onto a chick embryo). STE was located with immunofluorescence histochemistry, and ARP with Schiff's reagent. With these procedures prevenient sites of elastin synthesis are observed readily. The results show that the myocardium proper appears to have a role in the instigation of elastogenesis and in elastic fiber orientation; that the mesenchymal cells whose matrix contains elastic fibers are ectomesenchymal, of neural crest origin; and that elastin is deployed in an orderly proximal-distal sequence. It is hypothesized that elastogenesis is a critical event in aorticopulmonary septation.