Development of hamster tracheal epithelium: II. Cell proliferation in the fetus

Abstract

Proliferation of epithelial cells in the fetal trachea was studied in hamsters, beginning on the 10th gestational day and ending on the 16th day, shortly after birth. The mean mitotic index (MI) was highest on day 10, with no statistical confirmation of a change between days 10 and 11. The MI fell to about 2% on days 12 and 13, and declined thereafter to about 0.3% on day 16. The MIs for dorsal and ventral surfaces were compared and values were similar except on day 10, when ventral exceeded dorsal, and on day 12, when dorsal exceeded ventral, 2.56% and 1.3%, respectively. On days 10, 11, and 12 the epithelium was simple, composed of poorly differentiated columnar cells that proliferated. On day 13 the epithelium was pseudostratified owing to the presence of a few short cells that did not reach to the lumen. Throughout the fetal period, proliferation of columnar cells predominated but division of short (basal) cells increased from 8% to 40% of the total mitotic activity between day 13 and day 15. Proliferation of basal cells then declined, so that on day 16, 84% of all cells in mitosis were columnar. If basal cells divide to make more of themselves they must proliferate rapidly between day 13 and day 15, because they were virtually absent on day 12 but accounted for about 36% of the ventral and 23% of the dorsal epithelial cells on day 16. Based on the results, a hypothetical model is proposed for the formation of pseudostratified mucociliary epithelium. The model proposes that small granule (endocrine) cells, basal cells, secretory cells, and ciliated cells are established from poorly differentiated columnar cells by day 13. Thereafter short basal cells replicate to produce only basal cells, whereas columnar secretory cells replicate to produce secretory cells and ciliated cells. This model will be tested in future studies.