Cardiac differentiation induced by dopamine in undifferentiated cells of early chick embryo.
Dev Biol
; 148(1): 243-8, 1991 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-1936562
ABSTRACT
Evidence suggests that neurotransmitters can act as possible chemical signals involved in cell division and morphogenetic movements long before neurons appear in the embryo. However, whether they are playing a role in differentiation is now unknown. It was recently observed (M. Sarasa and S. Climent, 1987, J. Exp. Zool. 241, 181-190) that the neurotransmitter dopamine exerted a stimulating effect on cardiac differentiation in the chick in ovo. We show here that dopamine acts as a specific inducer of heart muscle differentiation in vitro. When cells of the gastrula of embryos treated with dopamine were dissociated and reaggregated, the aggregates obtained almost entirely underwent cardiac muscle differentiation. Also, when small postnodal pieces obtained from the most posterior region of the gastrula were cultivated in the presence of dopamine, they differentiated into myocardic tissue instead of following their fate map. Therefore, dopamine can trigger a process that both causes undifferentiated cells to differentiate into heart muscle and compels cells already determined to another way of differentiation to become myocardic tissue.
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Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Dopamina
/
Miocárdio
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Ano de publicação:
1991
Tipo de documento:
Article