Abstract
Chondrocytes of leg bone distal cartilages of 8-, 10- and 12-day normal (+/+) and Creeper (Cp/+) embryos were cultured in replicate culture tubes, in clonal culture dishes, and in rotation flasks. In replicate cultures, chondrocytes from Cp/+ embryos showed a more decreased growth rate than those from +/+ embryos. In clonal cultures, the higher percentage of cartilage-making cell colonies was obtained for Cp/+genotype than for +/+ genotype. In rotation cultures, chondrocytes from Cp/+embryos formed aggregates which were smaller in size and stronger in metachromatic staining than those from +/+ embryos. These results suggest that chondrocytes from Cp/+ embryos may differentiate more precociously than those from +/+ embryos, and that Cp gene may have effects in accelerating the differentiation and in suppressing the proliferation of chondrocytes.
