The Role of Mammalian Embryo Culture in Developmental Biology and Teratology

Abstract

Maintaining mammalian embryos in culture during the period of organogenesis has long been a goal of developmental biologists and teratologists [for review see New (1978)]. Early attempts encountered many difficulties and were successful in supporting normal growth and development for short periods only. Then in the 1960s static cultures employing standard organ culture techniques provided encouraging results (New and Stein, 1964). Later, circulation systems, in which embryos were stabilized in a chamber while medium circulated around them, were developed that were capable of maintaining normal growth for several days (New, 1967; Tamarin and Jones, 1968; Robkin et al., 1972; Shepard and Robkin, 1976). However, these systems and the techniques involved tended to be complex, thereby limiting their practicality. Finally, in the 1970s Dr. Denis New, who has been at the forefront of the establishment of in vitro systems, introduced the rotating method of culture (New et al., 1973). This approach proved to be a simple, reproducible means of maintaining mammalian (rat and mouse) embryos in culture from early postimplantation stages through much of the period of organogenesis. [Culturing older embryos (limb bud stages) is also possible.] With the advent of the rotator system the door for a host of investigations in developmental biology and teratology was opened, and numerous investigators adopted the technique.