Diferenciación de Cristalinos en Explantes de Embrión de Polio en Ausencia de Hipoblasto y Vesícula Optica1

Abstract

In vitro studies of lens formation in chick embryo have suggested the action of two factors leading the lens induction in the cephalic ectoderm in the absence of optic vesicle: preliminary instructive specific stimulus (homotypic endo-mesoderm) and permissive unspecific stimulus (heterotypic mesenchymes). In order to detect the true capacities of tissues that exert this influence in the cultural condition, series of in vitro experiments were planned. Exclusion experiments: explants including presumptive lens ectoderm were cultured previous to a progressive exclusion of adjacent tissues to trigger lens formation (endoderm, mesoderm and neural tissue), from stage 1 to 7 of HAMBURGER/HAMILTON. Recombinant experiments: Recombinations of caudal epiblast with cephalic hypoblast from blastoderms stages 3, 4 and 5; and recombinations of cardiac mesoderm stage 7 with trunk ectoderm stage 11, were cultured in close association. Lens and lentoids were formed in the presumptive lens ectoderm, even when endoderm, neural tissue and optic vesicle were excluded, but always in presence of subjacent mesoderm. Observation of cephalic epiblast after to be separated mechanically from the underlying tissues showed that the presumptive cardiac mesoderm remains in contact with the epiblast. Beside the cardiac area was capable of forming lens bodies in contact with the trunk ectoderm. It was concluded that the cardiac mesoderm is able to exert a instructive specific stimulus and a permissive unspecific stimulus during in vitro lens formation.