Epithelial Invagination: Adhesive Properties of Cells Can Govern Position and Directionality of Epithelial Folding

The aim of the present study was to investigate the mesenchymal influence on cultured epithelioid cells originating from an already differentiated intestine. Epithelioid cell cultures of 6-day-old suckling rat intestine were established by sequential trypsinizations of the mucosa. Embryonic intestinal monolayers of quail cells (13 days) were used as control because of their natural cell marker. Six to thirty days after plating, both types of epithelioid cells were associated in heterospecific combination with 5½-day-old chick embryonic small intestinal mesenchyme, after removal of the endoderm by collagenase treatment. In order to test the differentiation capabilities of the associations, they were grafted for 10–12 days into 3-day-old chick embryos. The results show that in such an in vivo culture system, the chimeric associations gave rise to well differentiated intestinal structures indicating that the epithelioid cell cultures derived from late embryonic or neonatal intestine will go through organotypic differentiation when recombined with an appropriate mesenchyme.