An in Vitro Study on Chick Somite Ability to Express Cerberus, Chordin, Fgf8, Follistatin, and Noggin Transcripts



Farahabadi SSH¹ ; Karbalaie K² ; Salehi H³ ; Rabiee F² ; Ghaedi K^{1, 2} ; Nasresfahani MH² Show Affiliations
Source: Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology Published:2014

Abstract

Background: In vitro simulation of developmental processes is an invaluable tool to shed light on the intrinsic mechanism of developmental biosystems such as central nervous system in mammals. Chick somites have been used to simulate the neural differentiation of human neural progenitor cells. In the present study, we aimed to indicate whether somites have the ability to express required neural differentiation factors at mRNA level. Methods: Chick embryos were isolated from the yolk surface of the fertilized eggs and somites were subsequently isolated from embryos under a dissecting microscope. Total RNA of the somites was extracted and RT-PCR carried out with specific primers of cerberus, chordin, FGF8, follistatin and noggin. Results: Data showed that five aforementioned factors were co-expressed after 7 days in vitro by somites. Conclusion: We concluded that neural induction property of somites appeared by production of required neural differentiation factors including cerberus, chordin, FGF8, follistatin and noggin. © 2014, Avicenna Journal of Medical Biotechnology. All rights reserved.