Embryonic chick cocultures of neuronal and muscle cells.

Objectives: the aim of this short report was to set up an effective experimental model of cocultures between cells from spinal cord (sp) explants and myotubes from adductor muscle. Methods: we obtained neuronal cells by spinal cord explants of ED 5 chicks by means of an enzymatic digestion. Small sp fragments were added in cultured muscle cells which are committed to the differentiative program. The latter cells were isolated from the adductor muscle of ED 12 chicks. Results and discussion: the validation of the experimental model was confirmed by a remarkable spreading pattern of neuronal cells, labelled with the NF200 antibody, on a high concentration of myotubes, marked by alfa-actinin antibody. The novel neuronal junctions were highlighted by the a-bungarotoxin. This communication reports one of the few morphological description of muscular and neuronal coculture preparation performed on chicken embryos. Conclusion: the experimental model presented in this work might be a useful tool in order to study the cascade of signals activated by paracrine neuronal factors and the effects of innervation on myogenic regulatory factors, during myogenesis.