AJP - Lung Cellular and Molecular Physiology, Vol 263, Issue 3 308-L316, Copyright © 1992 by American Physiological Society
A novel system for the culture of human lung: lung development and the response to injury
M. T. Hsu, M. Dimaio, O. K. Reiss, D. Ciurea and J. Gil
Department of Microbiology, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York 10029.
Existing methods of fetal lung organ culture are complicated and require
special skills. With the use of a polyester-based plastic sheet, we have
developed a simpler human fetal lung organ culture that is viable for 6 wk.
This novel method permits the study of growth and differentiation,
pulmonary surfactant secretion, and the response of human lung tissue to
injury in vitro. Lung tissues, obtained from human fetuses ranging in
gestational age from 14 to 18 wk, were cultured on the polyester sheet in
Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium supplemented with 15% fetal calf serum and
gentamicin. Microscopic study of the fetal lung before culturing revealed
round epithelial tubules, lined by glycogen-rich columnar cells and a thick
cellular interstitium. After 1 wk in culture, morphological examination
showed the development and expansion of alveolar saccules and thinning of
the interstitium; type I and II pneumocytes as well as fibroblasts and
myofibroblasts were present. Lipid analysis of the tissues, 2 wk after the
initiation of the culture, demonstrated a high percentage of dipalmitoyl
phosphatidylcholine characteristic of pulmonary surfactant. Treatment of
the organ culture with asbestos fibers induced type II cell hyperplasia,
increased numbers of collagen fiber bundles within the interstitium, and
the accumulation of multi-lamellated surfactant material within the
alveolar lumens. We conclude that this organ culture system is suitable for
studying lung growth, development, and injury in human tissue.
