title: Immunofluorescent localization of collagen types I, III, IV, fibronectin and laminin during morphogenesis of scales and scaleless skin in the chick embryo.
abstract: Collagen types I and III were purified from the skin of 3-or 7-week-old chickens, collagen type IV from bovine skin or EHS mouse tumour, fibronectin from human serum, and laminin from EHS mouse tumour. Antibodies were produced in rabbits or sheep, and used in indirect immunofluorescence on frozen sections of 9-to 16-day-old normal or mutant (scaleless) chick-embryo foot skin. In normal scale-forming skin and inscaleless skin, the distribution of anti-laminin and anti-type IV collagen label was uniform along the dermal-epidermal junction and showed no stage-related variations, except for fluorescent granules located in the dermis of early scale rudiments. By contrast, in normal scale-forming skin, the density of anti-types I and III label decreased in the dermis within scale rudiments, whereas it gradually increased in interscale skin. Conversely, anti-fibronectin label accumulated at a higher density within scale rudiments than in interscale skin. In the dermis of thescaleless mutant, anti-types I and III label and antifibronectin label were distributed evenly: the density of anti-collagen label increased with age, while that of antifibronectin decreased and almost completely vanished in 16-day-old skin, except around blood vessels. The microheterogeneous distribution of some extracellular matrix components, namely interstitial collagen types I and III and fibronectin, is interpreted as part of the morphogenetic message that the dermis is known to transmit to the epidermis during the formation of scales. The even distribution of these components in mutantscaleless skin is in agreement with this view. Basement membrane constituents laminin and type-IV collagen do not appear to be part of the dermal morphogenetic message.
authors.affiliation: Equipe de recherche associée au CNRS 621 "Morphogenèse expérimentale", Laboratoire de Zoologie et Biologie animale, Université Scientifique et Médicale de Grenoble, Boîte Postale 68, 38402, Saint-Martin-d'Hères Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Annick
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mauger
authors.affiliation: Equipe de recherche associée au CNRS 621 "Morphogenèse expérimentale", Laboratoire de Zoologie et Biologie animale, Université Scientifique et Médicale de Grenoble, Boîte Postale 68, 38402, Saint-Martin-d'Hères Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Demarchez
authors.affiliation: Centre de recherche appliquée de Dermobiochimie, Lyon.
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herbage
authors.affiliation: Equipe de recherche associée au CNRS 819 "Pathologie cellulaire du foie", Institut Pasteur Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Alexis
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Grimaud
authors.affiliation: Equipe de recherche associée au CNRS 819 "Pathologie cellulaire du foie", Institut Pasteur Lyon, Lyon, France.
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Druguet
authors.affiliation: Centre de Radioanalyse, Institut Pasteur, Lyon.
authors.forename: Daniel J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.affiliation: Départment de Gynécologie et Obstétrique, Université de Liège, Belgique.
authors.forename: Jean-Michel
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Foidart
authors.affiliation: Equipe de recherche associée au CNRS 621 "Morphogenèse expérimentale", Laboratoire de Zoologie et Biologie animale, Université Scientifique et Médicale de Grenoble, Boîte Postale 68, 38402, Saint-Martin-d'Hères Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Philippe
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sengel
keywords: Collagen; Fibronectin; Laminin; Scale morphogenesis; Skin