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Peripheral nerve section with subsequent disconnection of motor neuron (MN) cell bodies from their skeletal muscle targets leads to a rapid reactive response involving the recruitment and activation of microglia. In addition, the loss of afferent synapses on MNs occurs in concomitance with microglial reaction by a process described as synaptic stripping. However, the way in which postaxotomy‐activated microglia adjacent to MNs are involved in synaptic removal is less defined. Here, we used confocal and electron microscopy to examine interactions between recruited microglial cells and presynaptic terminals in axotomized MNs between 1 and 15 days after sciatic nerve transection in mice. We did not observe any bulk engulfment of synaptic boutons by microglia. Instead, microglial cells internalized small membranous‐vesicular fragments which originated from the acute disruption of synaptic terminals involving the activation of the necroptotic pathway. The presence of abundant extracellular vesicles in the perineuronal space after axotomy, together with the increased expression of phospho‐mixed lineage kinase domain‐like protein and, later, of extracellular vesicle markers, such as CD9, CD63, and flotillin, indicate that the vesicles mainly originated in synapses and were transferred to microglia. The upregulation of Rab7 and Rab10 in microglia interacting with injured MNs, indicated the activation of endocytosis. As activated microglia and synaptic boutons displayed positive C1q immunoreactivity, a complement‐mediated opsonization may also contribute to microglial‐mediated synaptic disruption. In addition to the relevance of our data in the context of neuroinflammation and MN disease, they should also be taken into account for understanding functional recovery after peripheral nerve injury., Main Points Early after axotomy, microglia recruited near injured motor neurons, emit processes that tend to contact their afferent synaptic terminals.Extracellular vesicles resulting from necroptotic synaptic disruption are removed by microglia.

Background The cellular mechanisms underlying the age‐associated loss of muscle mass and function (sarcopenia) are poorly understood, hampering the development of effective treatment strategies. Here, we performed a detailed characterization of age‐related pathophysiological changes in the mouse neuromuscular system. Methods Young, adult, middle‐aged, and old (1, 4, 14, and 24-30 months old, respectively) C57BL/6J mice were used. Motor behavioural and electrophysiological tests and histological and immunocytochemical procedures were carried out to simultaneously analyse structural, molecular, and functional age‐related changes in distinct cellular components of the neuromuscular system. Results Ageing was not accompanied by a significant loss of spinal motoneurons (MNs), although a proportion (~15%) of them in old mice exhibited an abnormally dark appearance. Dark MNs were also observed in adult (~9%) and young (~4%) animals, suggesting that during ageing, some MNs undergo early deleterious changes, which may not lead to MN death. Old MNs were depleted of cholinergic and glutamatergic inputs (~40% and ~45%, respectively, P < 0.01), suggestive of age‐associated alterations in MN excitability. Prominent microgliosis and astrogliosis [~93% (P < 0.001) and ~100% (P < 0.0001) increase vs. adults, respectively] were found in old spinal cords, with increased density of pro‐inflammatory M1 microglia and A1 astroglia (25‐fold and 4‐fold increase, respectively, P < 0.0001). Ageing resulted in significant reductions in the nerve conduction velocity and the compound muscle action potential amplitude (~30%, P < 0.05, vs. adults) in old distal plantar muscles. Compared with adult muscles, old muscles exhibited significantly higher numbers of both denervated and polyinnervated neuromuscular junctions, changes in fibre type composition, higher proportion of fibres showing central nuclei and lipofuscin aggregates, depletion of satellite cells, and augmented expression of different molecules related to development, plasticity, and maintenance of neuromuscular junctions, including calcitonin gene‐related peptide, growth associated protein 43, agrin, fibroblast growth factor binding protein 1, and transforming growth factor‐β1. Overall, these alterations occurred at varying degrees in all the muscles analysed, with no correlation between the age‐related changes observed and myofiber type composition or muscle topography. Conclusions Our data provide a global view of age‐associated neuromuscular changes in a mouse model of ageing and help to advance understanding of contributing pathways leading to development of sarcopenia. This work was supported by Abbott and a grant from the Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades cofinancedby Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (RTI2018-099278-B-I00 to J.C. and J.E.)

Survival motor neuron (SMN) is an essential and ubiquitously expressed protein that participates in several aspects of RNA metabolism. SMN deficiency causes a devastating motor neuron disease called spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). SMN forms the core of a protein complex localized at the cytoplasm and nuclear gems and that catalyzes spliceosomal snRNP particle syn-thesis. In cultured motor neurons, SMN is also present in dendrites and axons, and forms part of the ribonucleoprotein transport granules implicated in mRNA trafficking and local translation. Nevertheless, the distribution, regulation, and role of SMN at the axons and presynaptic motor terminals in vivo are still unclear. By using conventional confocal microscopy and STED su-per-resolution nanoscopy, we found that SMN appears in the form of granules distributed along motor axons at nerve terminals. Our fluorescence in situ hybridization and electron microscopy studies also confirmed the presence of β-actin mRNA, ribosomes, and polysomes in the presynap-tic motor terminal, key elements of the protein synthesis machinery involved in local translation in this compartment. SMN granules co-localize with the microtubule-associated protein MAP1B and neurofilaments, suggesting that the cytoskeleton participates in transporting and positioning the granules. We also found that, while SMN granules are physiologically downregulated at the pre-synaptic element during the period of postnatal maturation in wild-type (non-transgenic) mice, they accumulate in areas of neurofilament aggregation in SMA mice, suggesting that the high ex-pression of SMN at the NMJ, together with the cytoskeletal defects, contribute to impairing the bi-directional traffic of proteins and organelles between the axon and the presynaptic terminal. This work was supported by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (grant number:PID2019-110272RB-100/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (LT), SMA Europe (LT), Ministerio de Ciencia eInnovación/FEDER (grant: PID2021-122785OB-I00) (JC)), the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Se697/7-1 (MS)), and the Maratóde TV3 Foundation (202005 (JC and LT))

Early misfolded superoxide dismutase 1 (mfSOD1) accumulation, motor neuron (MN) degeneration, and microgliosis are hallmark pathological features in SOD1

C-type synaptic boutons (C-boutons) provide cholinergic afferent input to spinal cord motor neurons (MNs), which display an endoplasmic reticulum (ER)–related subsurface cistern (SSC) adjacent to their postsynaptic membrane. A constellation of postsynaptic proteins is clustered at C-boutons, including M2 muscarinic receptors, potassium channels, and s-1 receptors. In addition, we previously found that neuregulin (NRG)1 is associated with C-boutons at postsynaptic SSCs, whereas its ErbB receptors are located in the presynaptic compartment. Cbouton–mediated regulation of MN excitability has been implicated in MN disease, but NRG1-mediated functions and the impact of various pathologic conditions on C-bouton integrity have not been studied in detail. Here, we investigated changes inC-boutons after electrical stimulation,pharmacological treatment, and peripheral nerve axotomy. SSC-linked NRG1 clusters were severely disrupted in acutely stressedMNs and after tunicamycin-induced ER stress. In axotomized MNs, C-bouton loss occurred in concomitance with microglial recruitment and was prevented by the ER stress inhibitor salubrinal.Activatedmicroglia displayed apositive chemotaxis to C-boutons.Analysis of transgenicmice overexpressing NRG1 type I and type III isoforms in MNs indicated that NRG1 type III acts as an organizer of SSC-like structures, whereas NRG1 type I promotes synaptogenesis of presynaptic cholinergic terminals.Moreover,MN-derived NRG1 signals may regulate the activity of perineuronal microglial cells. Together, these data provide new insights into the molecular and cellular pathology of C-boutons in MN injury and suggest that distinct NRG1 isoform–mediated signaling functions regulate the complex matching between pre- and postsynaptic C-bouton elements. The authors thank Klaus A. Nave (Max-Planck-Institute of Experimental Medicine, Göttingen, Germany) for advice and for supplying neuregulin-1–mutant mice; Jesús María López (Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain), Ester Desfilis, and José Antonio Moreno for providing spinal cord samples from nonrodent animals; Anaïs Panosa and Xavier Calomarde (all from Universitat de Lleida−Institut de Recerca Biomèdica de Lleida) for technical support with confocal and electron microscopy; and the Serveis Científico-Tècnics Anima Facility of the University of Lleida for mouse care and housing. This work was supported by grants to J.E.E. and J.C. from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad cofinanced by the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER; SAF2015-70801-R). S.S. holds a grant from Spanish Ministerio de Educación, Cultura, y Deporte (FPU). M.H.S. holds a Heisenberg Fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) and acknowledges funding by a DFG research grant (SCHW741/4-1). The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is characterized by the loss of α-motoneurons (MNs) with concomitant muscle denervation. MN excitability and vulnerability to disease are particularly regulated by cholinergic synaptic afferents (C-boutons), in which Sigma-1 receptor (Sig1R) is concentrated. Alterations in Sig1R have been associated with MN degeneration. Here, we investigated whether a chronic treatment with the Sig1R agonist PRE-084 was able to exert beneficial effects on SMA. We used a model of intermediate SMA, the Smn2B/− mouse, in which we performed a detailed characterization of the histopathological changes that occur throughout the disease. We report that Smn2B/− mice exhibited qualitative differences in major alterations found in mouse models of severe SMA: Smn2B/− animals showed more prominent MN degeneration, early motor axon alterations, marked changes in sensory neurons, and later MN deafferentation that correlated with conspicuous reactive gliosis and altered neuroinflammatory M1/M2 microglial balance. PRE-084 attenuated reactive gliosis, mitigated M1/M2 imbalance, and prevented MN deafferentation in Smn2B/− mice. These effects were also observed in a severe SMA model, the SMNΔ7 mouse. However, the prevention of gliosis and MN deafferentation promoted by PRE-084 were not accompanied by any improvements in clinical outcome or other major pathological changes found in SMA mice. This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad co-financed by FEDER (SAF2015-70801).

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a severe motor neuron (MN) disease caused by the deletion or mutation of the survival motor neuron 1 (SMN1) gene, which results in reduced levels of the SMN protein and the selective degeneration of lower MNs. The best-known function of SMN is the biogenesis of spliceosomal snRNPs, the major components of the pre-mRNA splicing machinery. Therefore, SMN deficiency in SMA leads to widespread splicing abnormalities. We used the SMN∆7 mouse model of SMA to investigate the cellular reorganization of polyadenylated mRNAs associated with the splicing dysfunction in MNs. We demonstrate that SMN deficiency induced the abnormal nuclear accumulation in euchromatin domains of poly(A) RNA granules (PARGs) enriched in the splicing regulator Sam68. However, these granules lacked other RNA-binding proteins, such as TDP43, PABPN1, hnRNPA12B, REF and Y14, which are essential for mRNA processing and nuclear export. These effects were accompanied by changes in the alternative splicing of the Sam68-dependent Bcl-x and Nrnx1 genes, as well as changes in the relative accumulation of the intron-containing Chat, Chodl, Myh9 and Myh14 mRNAs, which are all important for MN functions. PARG-containing MNs were observed at presymptomatic SMA stage, increasing their number during the symptomatic stage. Moreover, the massive accumulations of poly(A) RNA granules in MNs was accompanied by the cytoplasmic depletion of polyadenylated mRNAs for their translation. We suggest that the SMN-dependent abnormal accumulation of polyadenylated mRNAs and Sam68 in PARGs reflects a severe dysfunction of both mRNA processing and translation, which could contribute to SMA pathogenesis. This work was supported by grants from: “Dirección General de Investigación” of Spain (BFU2014-54754-P and SAF2015-70801-R, cofinanced by FEDER) and “Instituto de Investigación Marqués de Valdecilla-IDIVAL (NVAL17/22). Dr. Tapia is the recipient of a grant from SMA Europe and FundAME (Spain).

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a genetic neuromuscular disorder characterized by spinal and brainstem motor neuron (MN) loss and skeletal muscle paralysis. Currently, there is no effective treatment other than supportive care to ameliorate the quality of life of patients with SMA. Some studies have reported that physical exercise, by improving muscle strength and motor function, is potentially beneficial in SMA. The adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase agonist 5-aminoimidazole-4-carboxamide-1-β-D-ribofuranoside (AICAR) has been reported to be an exercise mimetic agent that is able to regulate muscle metabolism and increase endurance both at rest and during exercise. Chronic AICAR administration has been shown to ameliorate the dystrophic muscle phenotype and motor behavior in the mdx mouse, a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Here, we investigated whether chronic AICAR treatment was able to elicit beneficial effects on motor abilities and neuromuscular histopathology in a mouse model of severe SMA (the SMNΔ7 mouse). We report that AICAR improved skeletal muscle atrophy and structural changes found in neuromuscular junctions of SMNΔ7 animals. However, although AICAR prevented the loss of glutamatergic excitatory synapses on MNs, this compound was not able to mitigate MN loss or the microglial and astroglial reaction occurring in the spinal cord of diseased mice. Moreover, no improvement in survival or motor performance was seen in SMNΔ7 animals treated with AICAR. The beneficial effects of AICAR in SMA found in our study are SMN-independent, as no changes in the expression of this protein were seen in the spinal cord and skeletal muscle of diseased animals treated with this compound.

C boutons are large, cholinergic, synaptic terminals that arise from local interneurons and specifically contact spinal α-motoneurons (MNs). C boutons characteristically display a postsynaptic specialization consisting of an endoplasmic reticulum-related subsurface cistern (SSC) of unknown function. In the present work, by using confocal microscopy and ultrastructural immunolabeling, we demonstrate that neuregulin-1 (NRG1) accumulates in the SSC of mouse spinal MNs. We also show that the NRG1 receptors erbB2 and erbB4 are presynaptically localized within C boutons, suggesting that NRG1-based retrograde signaling may occur in this type of synapse. In most of the cranial nuclei, MNs display the same pattern of NRG1 distribution as that observed in spinal cord MNs. Conversely, MNs in oculomotor nuclei, which are spared in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), lack both C boutons and SSC-associated NRG1. NRG1 in spinal MNs is developmentally regulated and depends on the maintenance of nerve-muscle interactions, as we show after nerve transection experiments. Changes in NRG1 in C boutons were also investigated in mouse models of MN diseases: i.e., spinal muscular atrophy (SMNΔ7) and ALS (SOD1(G93A)). In both models, a transient increase in NRG1 in C boutons occurs during disease progression. These data increase our understanding of the role of C boutons in MN physiology and pathology.

Several studies have reported the neuroprotective effects of lithium (Li) suggesting its potential in the treatment of neurological disorders, among of them amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Although the cause of motoneuron (MN) death in ALS remains unknown, there is evidence that glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity plays an important role. In the present study we used an organotypic culture system of chick embryo spinal cord to explore the presumptive neuroprotective effects of Li against kainate-induced excitotoxic MN death. We found that chronic treatment with Li prevented excitotoxic MN loss in a dose dependent manner and that this effect was mediated by the inhibition of glycogen synthase kinase-3beta (GSK-3beta) signaling pathway. This neuroprotective effect of Li was potentiated by a combined treatment with riluzole. Nevertheless, MNs rescued by Li displayed structural changes including accumulation of neurofilaments, disruption of the rough endoplasmic reticulum and free ribosome loss, and accumulation of large dense core vesicles and autophagic vacuoles. Accompanying these changes there was an increase in immunostaining for (a) phosphorylated neurofilaments, (b) calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) and (c) the autophagic marker LC3. Chronic Li treatment also resulted in a reduction in the excitotoxin-induced rise in intracellular Ca(2+) in MNs. In contrast to the neuroprotection against excitotoxicity, Li was not able to prevent normal programmed (apoptotic) MN death in the chick embryo when chronically administered in ovo. In conclusion, these results show that although Li is able to prevent excitotoxic MN death by targeting GSK-3beta, this neuroprotective effect is associated with conspicuous cytopathological changes.

Glutamate receptor-mediated excitotoxicity and mitochondrial dysfunction appear to play an important role in motoneuron (MN) degeneration in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). In the present study we used an organotypic slice culture of chick embryo spinal cord to explore the responsiveness of mature MNs to different excitotoxic stimuli and mitrochondrial inhibition. We found that, in this system, MNs are highly vulnerable to excitotoxins such as glutamate, N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA), and kainate (KA), and that the neuroprotective drug riluzole rescues MNs from KA-mediated excitotoxic death. MNs are also sensitive to chronic mitochondrial inhibition induced by malonate and 3-nitropropionic acid (3-NP) in a dose-dependent manner. MN degeneration induced by treatment with mitochondrial toxins displays structural changes similar to those seen following excitotoxicity and can be prevented by applying either the antiexcitotoxic drug 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione disodium (CNQX) or riluzole. Excitotoxicity results in an increased frequency of normal spontaneous Ca2+ oscillations in MNs, which is followed by a sustained deregulation of intracellular Ca2+. Tolerance to excitotoxic MN death resulting from chronic exposure to excitotoxins correlates with a reduced excitotoxin-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ and increased thapsigargin-sensitive Ca2+ stores.

In an attempt to determine whether the rescue of developing motoneurons (MNS) from programmed cell death (PCD) in the chick embryo following reductions in neuromuscular function involves muscle or neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), we have employed a novel cone snail toxin αA-OIVA that acts selectively to antagonize the embryonic/fetal form of muscle nAChRs. The results demonstrate that αA-OIVA is nearly as effective as curare or α-bungarotoxin (α-BTX) in reducing neuromuscular function and is equally effective in increasing MN survival and intramuscular axon branching. Together with previous reports, we also provide evidence consistent with a transition between the embryonic/fetal form to the adult form of muscle nAChRs in chicken that involves the loss of the gamma subunit in the adult receptor. We conclude that selective inhibition of the embryonic/fetal form of the chicken muscle nAChR is sufficient to rescue MNs from PCD without any involvement of neuronal nAChRs. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol, 2008

In the chick embryo, in ovo application of NMDA from embryonic day (E) 5 to E9 results in selective damage to spinal cord motoneurons (MNs) that undergo a long-lasting degenerative process without immediate cell death. This contrasts with a single application of NMDA on E8, or later, which induces massive necrosis of the whole spinal cord. Chronic MN degeneration after NMDA implies transient incompetence to develop programmed cell death, altered protein processing within secretory pathways, and late activation of autophagy. Chronic NMDA treatment also results in an enlargement of thapsigargin-sensitive Ca(2+) stores. In particular MN pools, such as sartorius-innervating MNs, the neuropeptide CGRP is accumulated in somas, peripheral axons and neuromuscular junctions after chronic NMDA treatment, but not in embryos paralyzed by chronic administration of curare. Intramuscular axonal branching is also altered severely after NMDA: it usually increases, but in some cases a marked reduction can also be observed. Moreover, innervated muscle postsynaptic sites increase by NMDA, but to a lesser extent than by curare. Because some of these results show interesting homologies with MN pathology in human sporadic ALS, the model presented here provides a valuable tool for advancing in the understanding of some cellular and molecular processes particularly involved in this disease.

We have developed an organotypic culture technique that uses slices of chick embryo spinal cord, in which trophic requirements for long-term survival of mature motoneurons (MNs) were studied. Slices were obtained from E16 chick embryos and maintained for up to 28 days in vitro (DIV) in a basal medium. Under these conditions, most MNs died. To promote MN survival, 14 different trophic factors were assayed. Among these 14, glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) and vascular endothelial growth factor were the most effective. GDNF was able to promote MN survival for at least 28 DIV. K(+) depolarization or caspase inhibition prevented MN death but also induced degenerative-like changes in rescued MNs. Agents that elevate cAMP levels promoted the survival of a proportion of MNs for at least 7 DIV. Examination of dying MNs revealed that, in addition to cells exhibiting a caspase-3-dependent apoptotic pattern, some MNs died by a caspase-3-independent mechanism and displayed autophagic vacuoles, an extremely convoluted nucleus, and a close association with microglia. This organotypic spinal cord slice culture may provide a convenient model for testing conditions that promote survival of mature-like MNs that are affected in late-onset MN disease such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The present study uses the embryonic chick to examine in vivo the mechanisms and regulation of Schwann cell programmed cell death (PCD) in spinal and cranial peripheral nerves. Schwann cells are highly dependent on the presence of axons for survival because the in ovo administration of NMDA, which excitotoxically eliminates motoneurons and their axons by necrosis, results in a significant increase in apoptotic Schwann cell death. Additionally, pharmacological and surgical manipulation of axon numbers also affects the relative amounts of Schwann cell PCD. Schwann cells undergoing both normal and induced PCD display an apoptotic-like cell death, using a caspase-dependent pathway. Furthermore, axon elimination results in upregulation of the p75 and platelet-derived growth factor receptors in mature Schwann cells within the degenerating ventral root. During early development, Schwann cells are also dependent on axon-derived mitogens; the loss of axons results in a decrease in Schwann cell proliferation. Axon removal during late embryonic stages, however, elicits an increase in proliferation, as is expected from these more differentiated Schwann cells. In rodents, Schwann cell survival is regulated by glial growth factor (GGF), a member of the neuregulin family of growth factors. GGF administration to chick embryos selectively rescued Schwann cells during both normal PCD and after the loss of axons, whereas other trophic factors tested had no effect on Schwann cell survival. In conclusion, avian Schwann cells exhibit many similarities to mammalian Schwann cells in terms of their dependence on axon-derived signals during early and later stages of development.

Motoneuron (MN) cell death is the histopathologic hallmark of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), although MN loss seems to be a late event. Conversely, disruption of afferent synapses on MNs has been shown to occur early in SMA. Using a mouse model of severe SMA (SMNΔ7), we examined the mechanisms involved in impairment of central synapses. We found that MNs underwent progressive degeneration in the course of SMA, with MN loss still occurring at late stages. Loss of afferent inputs to SMA MNs was detected at embryonic stages, long before MN death. Reactive microgliosis and astrogliosis were present in the spinal cord of diseased animals after the onset of MN loss. Ultrastructural observations indicate that dendrites and microglia phagocytose adjacent degenerating presynaptic terminals. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase was upregulated in SMNΔ7 MNs, and there was an increase in phosphorylated myosin light chain expression in synaptic afferents on MNs; these observations implicate nitric oxide in MN deafferentation and suggest that the RhoA/ROCK pathway is activated. Together, our observations suggest that the earliest change occurring in SMNΔ7 mice is the loss of excitatory glutamatergic synaptic inputs to MNs; reduced excitability may enhance their vulnerability to degeneration and death.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is an adult-onset progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motoneurons (MNs). Although the motor phenotype is a hallmark for ALS, there is increasing evidence that systems other than the efferent MN system can be involved. Mutations of superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene cause a proportion of familial forms of this disease. Misfolding and aggregation of mutant SOD1 exert neurotoxicity in a noncell autonomous manner, as evidenced in studies using transgenic mouse models. Here, we used the SOD1(G93A) mouse model for ALS to detect, by means of conformational-specific anti-SOD1 antibodies, whether misfolded SOD1-mediated neurotoxicity extended to neuronal types other than MNs. We report that large dorsal root ganglion (DRG) proprioceptive neurons accumulate misfolded SOD1 and suffer a degenerative process involving the inflammatory recruitment of macrophagic cells. Degenerating sensory axons were also detected in association with activated microglial cells in the spinal cord dorsal horn of diseased animals. As large proprioceptive DRG neurons project monosynaptically to ventral horn MNs, we hypothesise that a prion-like mechanism may be responsible for the transsynaptic propagation of SOD1 misfolding from ventral horn MNs to DRG sensory neurons. The authors would like to thank Montse Ortega for her technical assistance and Claudia Cervero, Alexandra Eritja and Ariadna Salvador for their help with some of the experiments in this study. This work was supported by grants from the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologia and Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad and cofinanced by FEDER (SAF2011-22908; SAF2012-31831).

We have previously shown that chronic treatment of chick embryos [from embryonic day 5 (E5) to E9] with NMDA rescues spinal cord motoneurons (MNs) from programmed cell death. In this situation, MNs exhibit a reduced vulnerability to acute excitotoxic lesions and downregulate NMDA and AMPA-kainate receptors. Here, we report that this treatment results in long-lasting sublethal structural changes in MNs. In Nissl-stained sections from the spinal cord of NMDA-treated embryos, MNs display an area adjacent to an eccentrically positioned nucleus in which basophilia is excluded. Ultrastructurally, MNs accumulate tubulovesicular structures surrounded by Golgi stacks. Thiamine pyrophosphatase but not acid phosphatase was detected inside the tubulovesicular structures, which are resistant to disruption by brefeldin A or monensin. Immunocytochemistry reveals changes in the content and distribution of calcitonin gene-related peptide, the KDEL receptor, the early endosomal marker EEA1, and the recycling endosome marker Rab11, indicating that a dysfunction in membrane trafficking and protein sorting occurs in these MNs. FM1-43, a marker of the endocytic pathway, strongly accumulates in MNs from isolated spinal cords after chronic NMDA treatment. Changes in the distribution of cystatin C and presenilin-1 and an accumulation of amyloid precursor protein and beta-amyloid product were also observed in NMDA-treated MNs. None of these alterations involve an interruption of MN-target (muscle) connections, as detected by the retrograde tracing of MNs with cholera toxin B subunit. These results demonstrate that chronic NMDA treatment induces severe changes in the motoneuronal endomembrane system that may be related to some neuropathological alterations described in human MN disease.

We have examined c-Jun protein expression by immunocytochemistry in normal and pathologically induced cell death by focusing primarily on the developing neuromuscular system of the chick embryo. Several commercially available antibodies against c-Jun were used in combination with the TUNEL technique or propidium iodide staining for detection of cells undergoing programmed cell death (PCD). Among these, a rabbit polyclonal antibody raised against the amino acids 91-105 mapping to the amino terminal domain of mouse c-Jun p39 (c-Jun/sc45) transiently immunostained the cytoplasm of dying spinal cord motoneurons at a time coincident with naturally occurring motoneuron death. Late apoptotic bodies were devoid of c-Jun/sc45 immunoreactivity. A monoclonal antibody directed against a region corresponding to the amino acids 26-175 of c-Jun p39 (c-Jun/mAB) did not specifically immunostain dying neurons, but, rather, showed nuclear immunolabeling in almost all healthy motoneurons. Experimentally induced programmed death of motoneurons by means of early limb bud ablation, axotomy, or in ovo injection of the neurotoxin β-bungarotoxin increased the number of dying cells showing positive c-Jun/sc45 immunoreactivity. Immunoelectron microscopy with c-Jun/sc45 antibody showed that the signal was present in the cytoplasm without a specific association with organelles, and was also present in large lysosome-like dense bodies inside neuritic profiles. Similar findings were obtained in different types of cells undergoing normal or experimentally induced PCD. These include dorsal root ganglion neurons, Schwann cells, muscle cells, neural tube and neural crest cells during the earliest stages of spinal cord development, and interdigital mesenchymal cells of hindlimbs. In all these cases, cells showed morphological and histochemical characteristics of apoptotic-like PCD. By contrast, motoneurons undergoing necrotic cell death induced by the excitotoxin N-methyl-D-aspartate did not show detectable c-Jun/sc45 immunoreactivity, although they displayed an increase in nuclear c-Jun/mAB immunostaining. In Western blot analysis of spinal cord extracts, c-Jun/sc45 antibody weakly detected a 39-kD band, corresponding to c-Jun, and more strongly detected two additional bands of 66 and 45 kD which followed developmental changes coincident with naturally occurring or experimentally stimulated apoptotic motoneuron death. By contrast, c-Jun/mAB only recognized a single p39 band as expected for c-Jun, and did not display changes associated with neuronal apoptosis. From these data, we conclude that the c-Jun/sc45 antibody recognizes apoptosis-related proteins associated with the early stages of morphological PCD in a variety of neuronal and nonneuronal cells, and that c-Jun/sc45 is a reliable marker for a variety of developing cells undergoing programmed cell death. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Neurobiol 38: 171–190, 1999

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is an autosomal recessive neuromuscular disorder caused by defective levels of the survival motor neuron (SMN) protein. SMA causes spinal motoneuron (MN) loss, and progressive muscle weakness and paralysis. Currently, there is no effective therapy to cure this disease. Although different strategies focused on increasing the expression of functional SMN protein have been assayed, numerous SMN-independent therapeutic approaches have been demonstrated to have potential effectiveness in improving the SMA phenotype in mouse models and clinical trials. Recent works have shown that compounds which inhibit GSK-3β activity are effective in promoting MN survival and ameliorating lifespan in models of MN diseases including SMA. Taking into account the reported neuroprotective actions of lithium (Li) through the inhibition of GSK-3β in different studies, we tested here its potential efficiency as a therapeutic agent in a mouse model of severe SMA (SMNΔ7 mice). We show that the chronic treatment with Li initiated before the appearance of disease symptoms, although inhibited GSK-3β, did not improve the median survival, motor behavior, and spinal MN loss linked to SMA. Li administration did not either ameliorate the microglial and astroglial reaction in the spinal cord or the depletion of glutamatergic synapses on MNs observed in SMNΔ7 animals. Moreover, Li treatment did not mitigate muscle atrophy or calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) downregulation in the neuromuscular junctions linked to the disease. However, a significant reduction in apoptotic cell death found in the skeletal muscle of SMA mice was observed after Li treatment.

It is known that motor nerve terminal sprouting induced by either nerve injury or muscle paralysis is associated with an increase in calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) content in the soma of motoneurons and in motor endplates. In the present study, CGRP-like immunoreactivity (CGRP-LI) was determined in motor endplates of animals in which nerve terminal sprouting had been induced by exogenous application of ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF). After 18 days of CNTF treatment we observed a significant increase in CGRP-LI in motor endplates. The results indicate that CGRP is upregulated when motor nerve outgrowth is induced, even in the absence of muscle paralysis or nerve lesion.

The aim of this study was to examine whether changes in rat motoneuronal calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) can be correlated with axonal growth and plasticity of neuromuscular synapses. Nerve terminal outgrowth was induced by local paralysis with botulinum toxin. Normal adult soleus and tibialis anterior did not show detectable CGRP content at the motor endplates. Following botulinum toxin injection there was a progressive, transient and bimodal increase in CGRP in both motoneuron cell bodies which innervated poisoned muscles and their motor endplates. CGRP content was moderately increased 1 day after paralysis and, after an initial decline, reached a peak 20 days after injection. This was followed by a gradual decrease and a return to normal levels at the 200th day. CGRP changes in intoxicated endplates were less evident in the tibialis anterior than in the soleus muscle. The CGRP content in motoneurons was positively correlated with the degree of intramuscular nerve sprouting found by silver staining. In situ hybridization revealed an increase in CGRP mRNA in spinal cord motoneurons 20 days after toxin administration. We conclude that motoneurons regulate their CGRP in situations in which peripheral synapse remodelling and plasticity occur.

A detailed pathologic analysis was performed on Smn(-/-);SMN2 mice as a mouse model for human type I spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). We provide new data concerning changes in the spinal cord, neuromuscular junctions and muscle cells, and in the organs of the immune system. The expression of 10 synaptic proteins was analyzed in 3-dimensionally reconstructed neuromuscular junctions by confocal microscopy. In addition to defects in postsynaptic occupancy, there was a marked reduction in calcitonin gene-related peptide and Rab3A in the presynaptic motor terminals of some, but not all, of the skeletal muscles analyzed. Defects in the organization of presynaptic nerve terminals were also detected by electron microscopy. Moreover, degenerative changes in muscle cells, defective postnatal muscle growth, and prominent muscle satellite cell apoptosis were also observed. All of these changes occurred in the absence of massive loss of spinal cord motoneurons. On the other hand, astroglia, but not microglia, increased in the ventral horn of newborn SMA mice. In skeletal muscles, the density of interstitial macrophages was significantly reduced, and monocyte chemotactic protein-1 was downregulated. These findings raise questions regarding the primary contribution of a muscle cell defect to the SMA phenotype.

Massive programmed cell death (PCD) of developing chick embryo motoneurons (MNs) occurs in a well defined temporal and spatial sequence between embryonic day (E) 6 and E10. We have found that, when administered in ovo, either circulating immunoglobulins G (IgGs) or cerebrospinal fluid from patients with MN disease can rescue a significant number of chick embryo MNs from normally occurring PCD. An increase of branching of intramuscular nerves was also observed that may account for the rescuing effects of pathologic IgGs. Proteomic analysis and further analysis by ELISA indicated that these effects may be mediated by the interaction of circulating human immunoglobulins with proteins of the semaphorin family. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The role of microglia during normal development of the nervous system is still not well understood. In the present study, a chick embryo model was used to examine the development of microglia in the spinal cord and characterize their changes in response to naturally occurring and pathological death of motoneurons (MNs). The microglial response to MN axotomy and the effects of microglial activation on MN survival were also studied. We found that: 1) macrophages/microglial cells were present in the spinal cord at early developmental stages (E3) and that they were recruited after normal and induced MN apoptosis; 2) although many microglial cells were seen phagocytosing apoptotic bodies, a proportion of dying cells were devoid of engulfing microglia; 3) axotomy of mature MNs was accompanied by microglial activation in the absence of MN death; 4) excitotoxic (necrotic) MN death provoked a rapid and massive microglial recruitment with phagocytic activity; 5) lipopolysaccharide-induced microglial activation in vivo resulted in the death of immature, but not mature, microglia; and 6) overactivation of microglia modulated the survival of mature MNs, either by killing them or by enhancing their vulnerability to die in response to a mild injury. Taken together, these observations indicate that normal microglia do not play an active role in triggering apoptosis of developing MNs. Rather, they act as phagocytes for the removal of dying cells during the process of programmed cell death.

We previously showed that, in contrast to the acute administration of NMDA, chronic treatment of chick embryos from embryonic day (E) 5 to E9 with this excitotoxin rescues motoneurons (MNs) from programmed cell death. Following this protocol, MNs are also protected against later acute excitotoxic cell death. Previously, we found that MNs treated from E5 to E9 develop long-lasting changes involving vesicular trafficking and other organelle pathology similar to the abnormalities observed in certain chronic neurological diseases including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Here we extend these previous results by showing that protein aggregation within the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) takes place selectively in MNs as an early event of chronic excitotoxicity. Although protein aggregates do not induce appreciable MN death, they foreshadow the activation of a conspicuous autophagic response leading to long-lasting degenerative changes that causes dysfunction but not immediate cell death. Chronic early treatment with NMDA results in a transient (between E6 and E10) lack of vulnerability to undergo cell death induced by different types of stimuli. It is suggested that blockade of protein translation in stressed ER may inhibit apoptosis in NMDA-treated MNs. However, in embryos older than E12, degenerating MNs are sensitized to die after limb ablation (axotomy) and accumulate hyperphosphorylated neurofilaments. Moreover, chronic NMDA treatment does not induce the upregulation of molecular chaperones in spinal cord. These results represent a new model of glutamate receptor-mediated neurotoxicity that selectively occurs in spinal cord MNs and also demonstrate an experimental system that may be valuable for understanding the mechanisms involved in chronic MN degeneration and in certain cytological hallmarks of ALS-diseased MNs such as inclusion bodies.

Blockade of neuromuscular activity in the chick embryo during the period of programmed cell death of motoneurons results in a complete rescue of these cells. Understanding the cellular mechanisms that mediate this counterintuitive effect is of considerable interest with respect to the regulation of motoneuron survival during development as well as for understanding why motoneurons die pathologically. Although considerable evidence supports the role of a peripheral site of action at the neuromuscular junction in mediating the rescue of motoneurons following activity blockade, some evidence also supports a role for central nervous system (CNS) neurons. For example, the rescue of motoneurons by curare has been reported to be blocked by the GABA(A) agonist muscimol via its actions on CNS neurons. We have carried out a series of studies to further investigate this interesting observation. Surprisingly, we find that: (1) muscimol blocks activity and rescues MNs in a dose-dependent manner, similar to curare; (2) muscimol's effects on MN survival appear to be mediated by its action on intramuscular nerve branching, similar to curare; and (3) although muscimol acts centrally, the effects of muscimol on MN survival and axon branching are mediated peripherally at the neuromuscular junction, similar to curare. Because muscimol reduces MN depolarization these data also suggest that the depolarization of MNs by afferents is not required for promoting MN survival. Taken together, these data provide further evidence in support of a peripheral site of action of activity blockade in rescuing motoneurons from developmental cell death.

One of the models of colon carcinogenesis in rats is produced by s.c. injections of 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH). This specific colon carcinogen provokes other tumors in the rat, notably intestinal tumors. Ear tumors are just marginally mentioned in the literature. We have studied the appearance and histologic characteristics of ear tumors produced by 19 s.c. injections of 21 mg/kg of DMH in 18 Sprague-Dawley rats: 15 tumors appeared in 13 ears of 10 rats (55% of the animals). Simultaneously there were 23 colonic tumors: four (26.6%) of the tumors were carcinomas, 10 (66.6%) papillomas and one (6.6%) pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia. We conclude that ear tumors induced by DMH appear in 55% of the rats and that it is not possible to distinguish macroscopically in terms of size and aspect between benign and malignant lesions.

Unilateral limb-bud removal (LBR) before the outgrowth of sensory or motor neurons to the leg of chick embryos was used to examine the role of limb (target)-derived signals in the development and survival of lumbar motoneurons and sensory neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). After LBR, motor and sensory neurons underwent normal initial histological differentiation, and cell growth in both populations was unaffected. Before their death, target-deprived motoneurons also expressed a cell-specific marker, the homeodomain protein islet-1. Proliferation of sensory and motor precursor cells was also unaffected by LBR, and the migration of neural crest cells to the DRG and of motoneurons into the ventral horn occurred normally. During the normal period of programmed cell death (PCD), increased numbers of both sensory and motor neurons degenerated after LBR. However, whereas motoneuron loss increased by 40–50% (90% total), only ∼25% more sensory neurons degenerated after LBR. A significant number of the surviving sensory neurons projected to aberrant targets in the tail after LBR, and many of these were lost after ablation of both the limb and tail. Treatment with neurotrophic factors (or muscle extract) rescued sensory and motor neurons from cell death after LBR without affecting precursor proliferation of either population. Activity blockade with curare failed to rescue motoneurons after LBR, and combined treatment with curare plus muscle extract was no more effective than muscle extract alone. Treatment with the antioxidantN-acetylcysteine rescued motoneurons from normal cell death but not after LBR. Two specific inhibitors of the interleukin β1 converting enzyme (ICE) family of cysteine proteases also failed to prevent motoneuron death after LBR. Taken together these data provide definitive evidence that the loss of spinal neurons after LBR cannot be attributed to altered proliferation, migration, or differentiation. Rather, in the absence of limb-derived trophic signals, the affected neurons fail to survive and undergo PCD. Although normal cell death and cell death after target deprivation share many features in common, the intracellular pathways of cell death in the two may be distinct.

To investigate the presumptive role of excitatory amino acids (EAAs) in the regulation of normally occurring motoneuron (MN) death, chick embryos were treated with the glutamate receptor antagonists dizocilpine maleate and 1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-6-nitro-2,3-dioxo-benzo[f]quinoxaline-7-sulfonamide disodium. Both failed to alter the number of surviving MNs at the end of the critical period of programmed cell death. However, treatment with 3-(2-carboxypiperazin-4-yl)-propyl-1-phosphonic acid, a competitive N-methyl-D-aspartic acid (NMDA) receptor antagonist, was able to rescue a significant number of MNs from death. Treatment with several EAA agonists induced extensive excitotoxic lesions in the spinal cord. MN degeneration induced by excitotoxins exhibited changes characteristic of necrosis rather than apoptosis. However, when either 0.5 or 1 mg of NMDA was applied acutely on embryonic day (E) 7, about 50% of treated embryos failed to exhibit NMDA-induced excitoxicity but rather showed a clear reduction in the number of pyknotic MNs. This apparent neuroprotective effect of NMDA was also observed in a subset of embryos chronically treated with NMDA, in which an excessive number of MNs was detected when examined on E9. Surprisingly, in the same experiment other embryos showed either normal or highly reduced MN numbers. Embryos with motoneuronal depletion induced by NMDA also showed a delayed impairment of later neuromuscular development with the appearance of degenerative changes in surviving MNs and apoptosis of skeletal muscle cells. Because some of the alterations reported here are similar to those described in MN diseases, our experimental model may be useful for gaining insights into the mechanisms that control both developmentally regulated and pathological MN death.

In the present work, we show that chick embryo Schwann cells die by apoptosis both during normal development and after axonal degeneration induced by neurotoxin treatment. Schwann cell apoptosis during development takes place during a period roughly coincidental with normally occurring motoneuron death. Administration of NMDA to chick embryos on embryonic day 7 induces extensive excitotoxic motoneuronal damage in the spinal cord without any apparent effects on neurons in the dorsal root ganglia (DRG). The death of Schwann cells inventralnerve roots after NMDA treatment causes degenerative changes that display ultrastructural features of apoptosis and exhibitin situdetectable DNA fragmentation. By contrast, NMDA treatment does not increase the death of Schwann cells indorsalnerve roots.In situdetection of DNA fragmentation in combination with the avian Schwann cell marker 1E8 antibody demonstrates that dying cells in ventral nerve roots are in the Schwann cell lineage. Administration of cycloheximide does not prevent the toxic effects of NMDA on motoneurons, but dramatically reduces the number of pyknotic Schwann cells and DNA fragmentation profiles in the ventral nerve roots.In ovoadministration of various tissue extracts (muscle, brain, and spinal cord) from the chick embryo or of the motoneuron conditioned medium fails to prevent Schwann cell apoptosis in NMDA-treated embryos. Intramuscular administration of the snake toxin β-bungarotoxin produces a massive death of both lateral motor column motoneurons and DRG neurons, resulting in a substantial increase in the number of pyknotic Schwann cells in both ventral and dorsal nerve roots. It is concluded that during development, axonal-derived trophic signals are involved in the regulation of Schwann cell survival in peripheral nerves.

We have studied in living chick embryos the effects of an extracellular calcium load on the induction of apoptosis in spinal cord motoneurons. The action of a calcium ionophore, A23187, that does not raise extracellular calcium was also evaluated in order to explore the role of endogenous calcium in determining developmentally-regulated cell death of motoneurons. The application of a single dose of 50 microliters of 1.8 M CaCl2 onto the chorioallantoic membrane of E7 chick embryos produce a transient elevation of intraembryonic calcium concentration that was followed by a transitory rise in the number of apoptotic cells in the lateral motor column. Administration of 250 microM of the ionophore A23187 (100 microliters), also results in an increase in apoptosis of motoneurons in the lateral motor column on E6 and E7 but this effect is progressively lost following treatment at more advanced stages of development. Neither of these effects can be explained by unspecific calcium cytotoxicity since they can be inhibited by prior administration of the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide or the neuromuscular blocking agent (+)-tubocurarine. After calcium loading, degenerating cells display similar ultrastructural characteristics as during physiologically occurring motoneuron death and exhibit histochemically detectable DNA fragmentation. Chronic administration of CaCl2 or A23187 does not reduce the total number of surviving motoneurons at the end of the normal period of naturally occurring motoneuron death (E10). It is suggested that calcium loading stimulates and accelerates the physiological degeneration of a restricted subpopulation of motoneurons which will undergo the process of natural cell death.

Using light and electron microscopy, a study has been made of the changes of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity in rat lumbar spinal cord motoneurons during cell body response to sciatic nerve injury. At light microscopy level, calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity was evaluated using an indirect immunofluorescence technique combined with Fast Blue retrograde tracing and a peroxidase-antiperoxidase procedure. The calcitonin gene-related peptide changes to sciatic nerve transection and crushing were compared. Calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity was transiently increased after the peripheral nerve lesion, but the response was sustained for a longer period when the peripheral nerve was transected and nerve regeneration prevented. The first changes in calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity were detected four days after nerve crush or transection. In animal spinal cords to which nerve crush had been applied, the maximal enhancement of immunoreactivity was found 11 days after lesion. This was followed by a gradual decline, normal levels being attained 45 days after nerve crushing. When the nerve was transected, the response was similar, but the maximal calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity was maintained over a period of between 11 and 30 days. As with crushing, an important decrease was observed after 45 days. The ultrastructural compartmentation of calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immunoreactivity was studied using either peroxidase-antiperoxidase method or immunogold labelling. Calcitonin gene-related peptide-like immuno-reactivity was located in restricted sacs of the Golgi complex, multivesicular bodies, small vesicles and tubulo-vesicular structures. Large, strongly labelled vesicles resembling secretory granules were also observed in neuronal bodies. Our results reveal that the increase of calcitonin gene-related peptide in motoneurons is a relevant change the cell body undergoes in response to peripheral injury. The ultrastructural location of the peptide distribution suggests specific compartmentation on tubulo-vesicular structures connected with the Golgi complex which form a network in the neuronal cytoplasm. The distribution pattern observed may be related to the sorting and delivery of calcitonin gene-related peptide to secretory vesicles.

Regional distribution of glycoconjugates in normal and neoplastic colonic mucosa was studied by means of eight lectins: Dolichos biflorus (DBA), Glycine max (SBA), Triticum vulgare (WGA), Arachis hypogaea (PNA), Griffonia simplicifolia-I (GS-I), Canavalia ensiformis (Con A), Limax flavus (LFA), and Ulex europaeus-I (UEA-I). The lectin binding patterns were examined in 40 normal colonic mucosa (NM) (12 proximal (P) and 28 distal (D], 38 carcinomas (15 P and 23 D), and 31 transitional mucosa (TM) (9 P and 22 D). Sections of NM located 5 cm and 10 cm distant from the tumour and sections from the resection margins (more than 10 cm from the tumour) of the surgical specimens were also studied in 19 cases (6 P and 13 D). In NM, regional differences between the proximal and distal colon were detected with most lectins. DBA, SBA and LFA bound mainly to the goblet cell mucin of the distal colon, while GS-I and UEA-I labelling predominated in proximal colonic mucosa. The lectin reactivity in carcinomas was: DBA 26%, SBA 63%, PNA 95%, GS-I 66%, UEA-I 76%, WGA 100%, Con A 92% and LFA 42%. No regional differences were observed in the lectin patterns of proximal and distal colonic carcinomas nor was any relationship detected between lectin reactivities and Dukes stage, size or histological type of tumours. Transitional mucosa of both the proximal and distal colon showed an increase in PNA-binding and loss of DBA and SBA. LFA and UEA-I reactivity in proximal TM was similar to that observed in proximal NM. Distal TM showed a decrease in LFA labelling and the appearance of UEA-I reactivity in goblet cell mucin in 5 cases (23%). The reactivity of the other lectins was as with NM. The only change in normal mucosa distant from tumours was a focal increase in PNA reactivity in 4 cases. These findings suggest that carcinomas from different colonic regions have a more uniform distribution of carbohydrates than the respective NM.

A study was made of the modifications of glycoconjugates in rat colonic mucosa during development. Sections of the caecum, and proximal and distal portions of the colon from Sprague Dawley rats at different stages of development (embryos, fetuses, suckling, weaning and adult rats) were examined. The sections were incubated with a battery of eight fluoresceinated lectins: DBA, SBA, WGA, LFA, PNA, GS-I, UEA-I and Con A. Some sections were treated with neuraminidase, and others were submitted to sequential saponification-neuraminidase treatment prior to incubation with the lectin (WGA, PNA or LFA). The intensity of the fluorescence was evaluated and graded from absent (-) to very positive (4+). Gradual and progressive changes were seen in colonic glycoconjugates during development. These changes revealed a unique developmental pattern for each lectin, which was independent for each cellular compartment (goblet cells, luminal surface and supranuclear region). Local and regional differences, observed between the different colonic sections, were already present from early stages of development. Moreover, our study showed that for several glycoconjugates, the differentiation process in colonic mucosa began in the distal region and continued through to the proximal region, the former being the first to reach the adult pattern. In the caecum, some lectins maintained a fetal pattern throughout all the periods of development up to the adult stage.