Human foetal kidney explants in serum-free organ culture

The purpose of the work was to develop an in vitro model for the study of human kidney development. Human metanephric explants from foetuses 10-18 weeks of gestational age were cultured in serum-free Leibovitz L-15 medium without hormones. Under the current minimal conditions for growth, the system permitted to maintain the renal tissues in culture for periods up to 9 days, although no evident sign of morphological differentiation was observed. However, during the studied period the overall architecture of the explants was preserved as well as the ultrastructural features of cytoplasmic organelles. The incorporation of 3H-thymidine and 3H-leucine indicated that DNA and protein synthesis was maintained or increased. Glycoprotein synthesis evaluated by 3H-glucosamine incorporation and radioautography continued in mesangium as well as in glomerular and tubular basement membranes. Alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase (brush border) and catalase (peroxisomes) activities remained histochemically active. The proposed organ culture system appears as a reliable and promising model that will provide basic data on the morphology and functional characteristics of the developing kidney. Since it is achieved in a completely controlled environment, it will permit to study the role of growth factors and hormones in proliferation and differentiation of the cell populations during development of the human foetal kidney.