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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Visualization of the Interstitial Cells of Cajal (ICC) Network in Mice
Published on: July 27, 2011
Dissociation, culture and morphologic changes of interstitial cells of Cajal in vitro
Chun-Xue Li1, Bao-Hua Liu, Wei-Dong Tong
1Department of General Surgery, Daping Hospital, Third Military Medical University, Chongqing 400042, China. lichunxue1974@hotmail.com
Aim:
To study the method of dissociation, culture and investigate its morphologic changes in vitro of interstitial cells of Cajal (ICC).
Methods:
Enzymatic digestion and Ficoll density centrifugation were used to dissociate ICC from the ileal segment of mice. Factors including contamination, Ca(2+), Mg(2+) and collagenase, and stem cell factor, etc., were investigated. ACK2, the antibody of c-kit, was used to identify the cultured ICC. Both light microscope and fluorescence microscope were used to observe the changes of ICC in vitro.
Results:
The method for dissociation and culture of ICC in vitro was successfully established. After 24 h, cultured ICC exhibited a few axis-cylinders, and longer axis-cylinders were observed to form synapse of each other after 3 d. More widespread connections formed within 7 d in vitro. The changes of its morphologic character were obvious within 7 d; however, there were no obvious morphologic changes after 30 d.
Conclusion:
Many factors can influence the dissociation and culture of ICC.
