ISSN:
1432-0878
Keywords:
Thymus
;
Bursa of Fabricius
;
Chick embryo
;
Lymphoid precursor cell, Lymphoid cell homing
;
Electron microscopy
Source:
Springer Online Journal Archives 1860-2000
Topics:
Biology
,
Medicine
Notes:
Summary Lymphoid precursor cell structure in the earliest stages of lymphoid development of the chick thymus and bursa of Fabricius was investigated light- and electron microscopically. The first lymphoid precursor cells around (8 days' incubation) and within (9 days') the epithelial thymus show the morphological features of motile cells, viz. pseudopodia and cytoplasmic bundles of filaments. Subsequent differentiation into lymphoid cells includes disappearance of pseudopodia and filaments, and appearance of a layer of marginal condensed heterochromatin in the nuclei. The first lymphoid precursor cells in the bursa mesenchyme (11 days' incubation) and bursa epithelial bud (12 days') are also characterized as motile cells; the intra-vascular lymphoid cells (13 days') of the bursa, though resembling the lymphoid cells in other localizations, lack their irregular cytoplasmic contours. The motile lymphoid cells in the early stages of lymphoid development of the chick thymus and bursa are not identical, but are distinguished by their cytoplasmic and nuclear organization: endoplasmic reticulum profiles and marginal heterochromatin, present in lymphoid cells of the bursa, are absent in those of the thymus. These and other data suggest that thymus and bursa lymphoid cells originate in different haemopoietic organs, those of the thymus in the yolk sac and those of the bursa in the spleen.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/BF00307368
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