In vitro differentiation in the absence of nerve of avian myoblasts derived from slow and fast muscle rudiments.
Slow anterior latissimus dorsi (ALD) and fast posterior latissimus dorsi (PLD) muscles of 9-day-old quail embryos were cultured in vitro without neurons for 1 to 12 weeks. Several differences could be observed between ALD- and PLD-derived cells. PLD cultures proliferated less rapidly than ALD cultures. ALD-derived muscle fibres exhibited wide Z lines, numerous mitochondria, and a poorly developed sarcotubular system, while PLD-derived muscle fibres exhibited narrow Z lines, few mitochondria, and an abundant sarcotubular system. Staining for myofibrillar ATPase revealed that all well-differentiated ALD-derived muscle fibres were of the beta' type, while PLD-derived fibres were of beta and beta R types. These results show that myoblasts from slow and fast muscle rudiments can express in vitro some of the characteristic features of slow and fast muscle fibres, independently of motor innervation.
D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002642:Chick Embryo / Q000166:cytology*; D006651:Histocytochemistry; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D009132:Muscles / Q000166:cytology / Q000196:embryology* / Q000201:enzymology / Q000648:ultrastructure; D009246:NADH Tetrazolium Reductase / Q000378:metabolism; D011784:Quail / Q000196:embryology*
D009246:NADH Tetrazolium Reductase; D000251:Adenosine Triphosphatases