The use of rafts made of polymers with hydrophobic properties in organ culture--a new modification of Chen's raft method

A new modification of tissue culture technique implying the use of rafts of hydrophobic polymers is suggested. Polyethylene rafts appeared to be the most appropriate for tissue culture of chick pituitary. The rafts were prepared as disks with an opening in the center. Millipore filter carrying the explants was placed over the opening. The rafts had good buoyancy, remained on the surface of the culture media for 1-2 weeks and were reusable.     

Somatotropic cell differentiation in an organ culture of the chick embryo adenohypophysis

Morphogenetic potencies of the adenohypophysis tissue from 4.5 to 11-day old chicken embryos used for the differentiation of somatotropic cells were investigated by methods of organ tissue culture. STG-cells were detected in cultures by immunofluorescence using an antiserum to human STG. In vitro studies of organ cultures revealed differentiation of STG-cells when adenohypophysis tissue was cultured from the 5.5th, 7th, 9th and 11th day of development in the absence of the diencephalon. Differentiation of STG-cells occurred predominantly in embryo caudal lobe transplants after chorion-allantois culturing of Rathke's pocket fragments from 4.5-, 5.0- and 5.5-day old embryos. The data obtained suggest that at late stages of Rathke's pocket development differentiation of STG-cells is preprogrammed and that determined precursors of these cells are located in the caudal lobe of the germ.