Asymmetric patterns of gap junctional communication in developing chicken skin

Abstract

To study the pattern of gap junctional communication in chicken skin and feather development, we injected Lucifer Yellow into single cells and monitored the transfer of the fluorescent dye through gap junctions. Dye coupling is present between cells of the epithelium as well as between cells of the mesoderm. However, dye transfer did not occur equally in all directions and showed several consistent patterns and asymmetries, including: (1) no dye coupling between mesoderm and epithelium, (2) partial restriction of dye coupling at the feather bud/interbud boundary during early feather bud development, (3) preferential distribution of Lucifer Yellow along the anteroposterior axis of the feather placode and (4) absence of dye coupling in some epithelial cells. These results suggest the presence of preferential pathways of communication that may play a role in the patterning of chicken skin.