Chick embryo development: Chemical variations of cartilage

Abstract

The chemical composition of cartilage from vertebrae and long bones of chick embryos 8 to 18 days old has been established. Collagen, mucopolysaccharides, and non-collagenous protein show similar patterns of distribution in the two types of cartilage; the maximum variation in these components has been found between the fourteenth and the sixteenth day of the prehatching period. The modifications that we have measured seem to be related more to a genera1 biochemical feature of embryo development than to the preparation of the cartilage matrix for calcification.

Histomorphometry of the Embryonic Avian Growth Plate by Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Microscopy

“…If the change in the T 2 of extracellular water protons is attributed to changes in the PG content of the matrix, as previously reported, (26) it is evident that for the different growth zones the PG content does not change significantly. This result is consistent with the reportedly minimal changes in PG content for the different zones of the chick growth plate (27) . The fact that the T 2 value derived for the extracellular matrix (46 ms) was comparable with mature articular cartilage suggests that the PG content of the extracellular matrix of the growth plate is comparable with that of mature cartilage.…”