Summary
This report describes a method for organ culture of the fetal rat lung at the early preglandular phase of development. When the intact fetal lung is cultured fully submerged in medium it develops as an expanded hollow organ. This pattern of in vitro morphogenesis provides a specimen uniquely suited to analysis of the pulmonary epithelium by scanning electron microscopy. In this system alveolar Type II cells and cell types of the distal pulmonary airways undergo differentiation in serum-free media.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Gross, I.; Rooney, S. A. Aminophy lline stimulates the incorporation of choline into phospholipid in explants of fetal rat lung in organ culture. Biochim. Biophys. Acta 488: 263–269; 1977.
McAteer, J. A.; Hegre, O. D. A continuous-flow method of organ culture. In Vitro 14: 795–803; 1978.
Spooner, B. S.; Wessels, N. K. Mammalian lung development: Interactions in primordium formation and bronchial morphogenesis. J. Exp. Zool. 175: 445–454; 1970.
Alescio, T.; Dani, A. M. The influence of mesenchyme on the epithelial glycogen and budding activity in mouse embryogenic lung developingin vitro. J. Embryol. Exp. Morphol. 25: 131–140; 1971.
Hodges, G. N. A review of methodology in organ culture. In: Balls, M.; Monnickendam, M. A., eds. Organ culture in biomedical research. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1976: 15–59.
Trowell, O. A. The culture of mature organs in a synthetic medium. Exp. Cell Res. 16: 118–147; 1959.
Fainstat, T. Submerged organ culture: an improved method. In Vitro 7: 300–303; 1972.
Barrett, L. A.; McDowell, E. M.; Frank, A. L.; Harris, C. C.; Trump, B. F. Long term organ culture of human bronchial epithelium. Cancer Res. 36: 1003–1010; 1976.
Resnick, J. S.; Brown, D. M.; Vernier, R. L. Oxygen toxicity in fetal organ culture. II. The developing lung. Lab. Invest. 31: 665–677; 1974.
McAteer, J. A.; Cavanagh, T. J.; Evan, A. P. Submersion culture of the intact fetal lung. In Vitro 19: 210–218; 1983.
McAteer, J. A.; Cavanagh, T. J.; Connors, B. A.; Evan, A. P. Alveolar epithelial differentiation in defined-medium serum-free culture. J. Cell Biol. 95: 189a; 1982.
McAteer, J. A.; Cavanagh, T. J.; Evan, A. P. Pulmonary epithelial cytodifferentiationin vitro occurs in the absence of key hormones implicated in fetal lung development. Anat. Rec. 205: 115A–116A; 1983.
McAteer, J. A.; Cavanagh, T. J. Medium hydrated collagen gel as an explant support in organ culture. J. Tissue Cult. Methods 7: 117–122; 1982.
O'Hare, K. H.; Sheridan, M. N. Electron microscopic observations on the morphogenesis of the albino rat lung, with special reference to pulmonary epithelial cells. Am. J. Anat. 127: 181–206; 1970.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
McAteer, J.A., Cavanagh, T.J. & Evan, A.P. Submersion organ culture of preglandular fetal lung. Journal of Tissue Culture Methods 8, 59–62 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02099239
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02099239