The ultrastructure of cartilage formation from neonatal skeletal muscle in vitro.

Histological changes in cultured neonatal skeletal muscle tissue at the early stage of cartilage induction by syngeneic insoluble bone matrix gelatin (BMG) containing bone morphogenetic protein were examined by light and electron microscopy. Minced skeletal muscle was cultured on hemicylindrical pieces of BMG for 14 days. Chondroblasts first appeared in the crevices of the BMG on Day 7 of the culture, and cartilage tissue was seen to fill the crevices completely by Day 10. The main findings in this work are as follows: 1) the activation of satellite cells and necrosis of myonuclei; 2) the migration of satellite cells from the basement membrane; 3) fibroblasts with increased numbers of organelles between degenerated muscle fibers closely resembling the migratory satellite cells; 4) the migration of the spindle-shaped cells into the crevices of the BMG; and 5) change of the spindle-shaped cells to chondroblasts. These findings suggest that neonatal skeletal muscles, which appear more mature than embryonic muscles, also have a chondrogenetic potential when grown on BMG, and that chondroblasts originate from the spindle-shaped cells which are thought to result from migratory satellite cells as well as fibroblasts.