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

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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 . . .