The long-term organ culture of tissues from adult Necturus maculosus, the mud puppy

✍ Scribed by Dennis Brown; Norman Fleming; Marjorie A. Monnickendam; Michael Balls

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 564 KB
• Volume: 145
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0362-2525
• DOI: 10.1002/jmor.1051450305

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Fragments of Necturus maculosus liver, spleen and kidney were cultured at 25°C in 50% Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) or 50% Leibovitz L‐15 Medium (L‐15) for up to 49 days. The integrity of tissue structure was evaluated, hepatocyte cell and nuclear volumes were measured, the respiration rates of freshly‐isolated and cultured liver fragments were determined, and the mitotic incidences in cultured liver, spleen and kidney were estimated. The addition of adrenalin caused a reduction in the glycogen content of liver cultures, and the subsequent addition of insulin resulted in a net increase in glycogen synthesis. Glycogen levels fell in fragments cultured in L‐15, but rose in cultures in MEM. Arginase and ornithine transcarbamylase levels fell gradually throughout a 49‐day culture period in L‐15. Evidence presented supports the position that the survival of tissues in vitro is related to cell size and respiration rate. These experiments show that N. maculosus is a suitable donor of tissues for long‐term organ culture studies on the maintenance and control of tissue‐type specific structure and function.