Abstract
We recently reported the successful maintenance of human fetal intestinal tissue for 9 days in serum-free organ culture (Ménard and Arsenault, Gastroenterology, in press). This investigation was undertaken in order to evaluate the possibility to extent to other fetal digestive tract tissues this serum-free organ culture technique. Explants of fetal esophagus, stomach and colon (10–15 weeks gestation) were maintained in serum-free Leibovitz L-15 medium at 37°C in 95% air - 5% CO2. As determined by light and electron microscopy the overall architecture of esophagus, stomach and colon explants was maintained for 9, 21 and 15 days, respectively. Furthermore, the epithelium of the stomach continued to differentiate. The incorporation of 3H-thymidine and 3H-leucine continued during the culture period, reflecting a sustained synthesis of DNA and proteins. On the other hand, the incorporation of 3H-glucosamine increased during the culture, pointing out to the possibility of an accelerated glycoprotein synthesis. As determined by radioautography, the proliferative cells were detected in the basal layer of the ciliated columnar epithelium of esophagus, at all levels of the stomach epithelium and in the inter-villus area of the colon. These observations clearly established that the entire human fetal digestive tract can be maintained in the same complete controlled environment. Therefore, this explant culture technique should be a useful tool for the study of the development of human fetal digestive tract.
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