The development of multi-ciliated cells in chicken embryos

Most cells of the embryo and adult possess a cilium, an organelle which protrudes from the surface of the cell. Some specialised cells such as the epithelia of the lung become multi-ciliated. Multi-ciliated cells are important in the adult as these cilia are motile and drive fluid movement in organs (e.g. cerebrospinal fluid in the central nervous system). An increasing number of humans and animal mutations cause a loss of cilia (ciliopathies) resulting in serious health problems including kidney disease and blindness. However where and when multi-ciliated cells develop has not been extensively studied. Elucidating the mechanisms of cilia formation will therefore inform our basic understanding of these disorders. We studied the expression of the ‘master regulator’ of multi-ciliated cell fate, FOXJ1, in chicken embryos to determined locations in which multi-ciliated cells development in chicken embryos. We then confirmed if these tissues did form multi-ciliated cells using immunohistochemistry to tubulin proteins which constitute the cilla. Furthermore we examined the chicken cilia mutant Talpid3, which is known to lose primary cilia to see if the development of multiple cilia were also affected.