Maturation of human fetal stomach in organ culture

Abstract

Background: This investigation was undertaken to establish a serum-free organ culture technique allowing for the morphological and physiological maintenance of human fetal stomach in vitro. Methods: Explants from gastric corpuses (12–17 weeks of gestation) were cultured in serum-free medium for periods of up to 15 days. Results: After 15 days of culture, surface mucous cells were more mature, gastric glands were numerous and well developed, and all epithelial cell types were morphologically very well preserved. Morphometric measurements of the glands revealed an accelerated development in culture compared with that found in utero. Even though the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into total DNA decreased, the labeling indices determined by radioautography confirmed that epithelial cell proliferation was maintained especially in the pit/neck portion and at the base of the glandular compartments. A significant increase in total glycoprotein synthesis, as evaluated by the incorporation of [3H]glucosamine, was observed and correlated with the differentiation of the mucous cells. Conclusions: This investigation establishes for the first time that human gastric mucosa can be maintained up to 15 days in organ culture and that maturation of the gastric mucosa can be reproduced in chemically defined media.