Functional integrity of fetal rat liver explants cultured in a chemically defined medium

An organ culture of postnatal rat liver slices

A technique for the organ culture of postnatal and adult rat liver has been developed. Liver slices, 0.3 mm thick, were maintained in Conway units at the interphase between medium and a 95% O2:5% CO2 atmosphere. Postnatal liver in culture for up to 72 h had healthy hepatocytes throughout the explants; if adult liver was used the upper 0.2 mm was healthy after 24 h. These slices incorporated tritiated orotate and leucine into trichloroacetic acid-precipitable material. Incorporation of orotate was shown to be spread over the entire slice of neonatal liver. Culturing did not alter the potassium ion content of postnatal liver. Tyrosine aminotransferase activity in liver slices from postnatal, adult, and adrenalectomized adult rats was stimulated by glucocorticoids and dibutyryl cyclic AMP. Cycloheximide and actinomycin D prevented this response. Further, cortisol exerted a permissive effect on the stimulation of tyrosine aminotransferase activity by dibutyryl cyclic AMP in slices from adrenalectomized rats. Induction of urea cycle enzymes by cortisol was demonstrated in cultures of liver from adrenalectomized adult animals.

Growth factors and their action in vivo and in vitro

The molecular nature and mechanism of action of several of the growth factors including epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor and platelet-derived growth factor is reviewed. The ectopic production of growth factors may be important in the growth development of certain tumours. In addition, attention is directed to the importance of the extracellular matrix in controlling cell proliferation and differentiation.

Comparative effects of insulin and hydrocortisone on glycogen content of fetal and newborn rat liver cultures

Organ cultures prepared from 18- to 19-day fetal and 3- to 6-day-old newborn rat liver were maintained for 2 days in Trowell's T8 medium without insulin and supplemented with 0.1% albumin and 300 mg% glucose. The atmosphere for culture was 95% O2 and 5% CO2. Medium alone was used for control cultures, whereas insulin, hydrocortisone, or insulin plus hydrocortisone were used in experimental groups. Explant glycogen stores were maintained better in cultures grown in hormone-supplemented media than in control cultures. Fetal explants were found to have higher levels of glycogen than controls in the insulin or insulin plus hydrocortisone groups. Postnatal explants did not have higher levels of glycogen in the hormone-treated groups. Gestational age appeared to determine whether the liver explants reacted to hydrocortisone or insulin to maintain glycogen stores. Enzymatic assays, in vitro of glycogen synthetase and phosphorylase, indicated that the fetal liver response to insulin plus hydrocortisone by increasing the total and independent form of glycogen synthetase; but similar enzyme studies on postnatal rat liver did not show convincing differences as to an effect on synthetase. No definite in vitro temporal relationships could be identified. Late in gestation, the effect of hydrocortisone on glycogen synthesis is apparently dependent on the presence of insulin. Insulin appears to be required for glycogen storage in vitro in the cultures of postnatal rat liver.

Induction of tyrosine aminotransferase mRNA by glucocorticoids and cAMP in fetal rat liver

Tyrosine aminotransferase (L-tyrosine:2-oxoglutarate aminotransferase, EC 2.6.1.5) enzyme and mRNA activity were not detectable in day 20 fetal rat liver. Precocious induction of catalytic activity by in utero injection of dibutyryl cAMP was a direct consequence of the de novo appearance of translatable tyrosine aminotransferase mRNA. In contrast, in utero injection of hydrocortisone acetate failed to elicit fetal liver enzyme activity. This failure was due to the inability of the steroid hormone to induce the appearance of tyrosine aminotransferase mRNA activity. In fetal rat liver explants, either compound was capable of stimulating the synthesis of adult levels of enzyme and mRNA. However, catalytic and mRNA activity comparable with that seen in vivo 24 hr after birth required the concerted action of both inducers.