Establishment of human fetal intestinal organ cultures for growth of viruses.

Abstract

The advent of modern techniques for the laboratory cultivation of whole organ explants has led to the establishment of cultures of a wide variety of organs from a number of different hosts [1]. The small intestine, however, has proven to be a notable exception. Previous attempts at intestinal and other organ cultures have utilized a variety of techniques [2-6]. Enders and his co-workers reported survival of fragments of human embryonic intestine for at least 17 days in a modified Maitland culture system [7], but viable human intestinal organ cultures, lasting more than 24 hr, have not been described. Stimulated by recent experience in the detection of occult respiratory viruses through the use of tracheal organ cultures [8, 9], we have established small intestinal organ cultures from human fetal material, as well as from chicken and rabbit embryos, and have maintained these cultures for up to 21 days. Hopefully, these organ cultures may offer a sensitive system for the replication and detection of heretofore occult viral