Organ-Culture Methods in the Study of Gastrointestinal-Mucosal Function and Development

Abstract

In vitro studies of mammalian gastrointestinal-mucosal function and metabolism are often limited by rapid autolysis of mucosal epithelial cells. Everted sacs¹ or rings of intestine and fragments of gastric and colonic mucosa immersed in oxygenated buffer solutions² are useful for short-term incubation, but morphologic examination shows epithelial-cell necrosis and cell degeneration if such incubations are prolonged for more than two to three hours.³ Similarly, most preparations of isolated epithelial-cell suspensions from the gastrointestinal tract remain viable for only a few hours. When grown in tissue cultures, these cells undergo rapid dedifferentiation,⁴ which is often accompanied by overgrowth of mesenchymal cells . . .