For characterization of the growth pattern of cardiac myocytes during posthatching development, cardiac myocytes were enzymatically isolated from the ventricles of 1-, 15-, 29-, and 42-day-old chickens for measurement of myocyte nucleation, length, width, volume, and number, and for immunolabeling of cytoskeletal proteins. Ventricular myocyte number increased 156% from day 1 to day 42. Average cell volume increased more than 400%, and myocytes lengthened 125%, but cell width only increased 53% during this period. All myocytes were mononucleated at day 1. At day 15, 18% of myocytes became binucleated with < 1% of myocytes containing more than two nuclei. Interestingly, binucleated myocytes were able to divide with two nuclei going through mitosis at the same time. As demonstrated by staining with tubulin and alpha-actinin antibodies, two mitotic spindles and two cleavage furrows were formed in dividing binucleated myocytes. At day 42, binucleated myocytes increased to 44% with 11% of myocytes containing more than two nuclei. Sarcomeric alpha-actinin was partially disassembled in prometaphase and was reorganized into regular Z lines of sarcomeres in telophase. Desmin was disassembled in prophase and was reassembled during late telophase. These results suggest that chicken myocytes undergo hypertrophy and continue to proliferate during posthatching maturation, although it is currently believed that myocytes of all vertebrates withdraw from the cell cycle shortly after birth. We provide direct evidence for the first time of in vivo myocyte division in 6-wk-old chicken hearts.
Thalamocortical connections are a neuroanatomical feature shared among vertebrates, although the extent and organization of these connections vary among species. From an evolutionary standpoint, reptiles represent early stages of the pattern of connectivity between the thalamus and cortex, and elucidation of these pathways may help to reveal the biological significance of these projections. The present tract tracing study was performed to examine the organization of thalamocortical projections in the pond turtle, Pseudemys scripta elegans. All experiments were carried out using in vitro brain preparations. Injections of neurobiotin into the medial cortex resulted in labeled neurons in the ipsilateral dorsomedial anterior nucleus of the thalamus, those in the dorsomedial cortex labeled neurons in the dorsolateral anterior nucleus, and injections into the dorsal cortex resulted in labeled neurons in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the thalamus. Injections of neurobiotin into these thalamic nuclei confirmed the projections to the cortex. Finally, neurobiotin injections primarily into the medial cortex resulted in bilateral label of axons and terminals in the suprapeduncular nucleus of the hypothalamus. The results of the neurobiotin injections revealed a topographic pattern of thalamocortical connections such that medial cortical regions connect with medial thalamic nuclei and lateral cortical regions connect with lateral nuclei. These findings suggest that the presence of functionally segregated thalamocortical projections is a conserved feature of brain organization among amniotes. Moreover, this work describes a descending pathway linking cortical regions with the red nucleus via the hypothalamus thereby providing indirect cortical control of the reptilian rubrospinal system.
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