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A New Culture Technique: An Approach to the in-Vitro Reconstitution of Endocrine Organs

  • Conference paper
Hormonally Defined Media

Part of the book series: Proceedings in Life Sciences ((LIFE SCIENCES))

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Abstract

A new cell culture technique called three-dimensional-rotation culture (3dR-culture) has been developed. Its main characteristics are: (i) cultivation under constant rotation, and (ii) the use of a three-dimensional material that allows the cells to adhere and to grow in a three-dimensional arrangement. Two glassfibre materials and one gelatine-sponge proved suitable for the use in cell culture. The new technique has the advantage to yield in large numbers cells bound on a stable matrix that can easily be handled, e.g. for implantation.

The technique described was used for primary culture of dissociated pituitaries m combination with a um-free medium. Under these conditions a pituitary “organoid” reconstituted in-vitro which secreted in average 50 ng ACTH/ml × day into the culture supernatant. The pituitary organoids were implanted subcutaneously into hypophysectomized syngeneic rats. The influence an restoring growth and ACTH blood plasma level was observed. The animals did not increase their body weight, but the ACTH level rose from zero to at least one fifth of normal values.

Hypothalamic organoids, also grown in serum-free medium, secreted vasopressin for up to seven weeks into the culture supernatant.

These experiments show that it may be possible to substitute dysfunctional organs by in-vitro reconstituted organoids, which would open new possibilities for medical therapy and for studying the regulation of endocrine glands.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Immunologie, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-6500, Mainz, Germany

    Elke Lang, Klaus Lang, Bernd Nitzgen & Gerd Brunner

  2. Abt. Endokrinologie, II Medizinische Klinik, Langenbeckstr. 1, D-6500, Mainz, Germany

    Ulrich Krause

  3. Pharmakologisches Institut, Johannes Gutenberg Universität, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, D-6500, Mainz, Germany

    Kurt Racké

Authors
  1. Elke Lang
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  2. Klaus Lang
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  3. Ulrich Krause
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  4. Kurt Racké
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  5. Bernd Nitzgen
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  6. Gerd Brunner
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Neurobiologie, Universität Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 504, 6900, Heidelberg 1, Germany

    G. Fischer

  2. Institut für Pharmakologie, Universität Mainz, Obere Zahlbacher Str. 67, 6500, Mainz, Germany

    R. J. Wieser

Additional information

This report is dedicated to Gerd Brunner who died in July 1982 in the Karakorum Mountains, Pakistan since it is based on his last ideas and investigations.

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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Lang, E., Lang, K., Krause, U., Racké, K., Nitzgen, B., Brunner, G. (1983). A New Culture Technique: An Approach to the in-Vitro Reconstitution of Endocrine Organs. In: Fischer, G., Wieser, R.J. (eds) Hormonally Defined Media. Proceedings in Life Sciences. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69290-1_30

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69290-1_30

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-69292-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-69290-1

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