Modulation of fetal mouse liver cells cultured on a pigskin substrate

Mouse fetal liver cells cultured on a pigskin epidermal substrate grew for 7 weeks. Different enzymes and proteins, i.e. gamma-glutamyl transferase (GGT), nonspecific esterase (NE), lactic dehydrogenase (LDH), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), and albumin were studied histochemically and/or biochemically. The activity of GGT was high at the beginning of culture and then decreased rapidly. The activities of NE and LDH were high during the culture. Release into the media and localization of AFP suggested active synthesis during the early stages. AFP levels gradually decreased and could be demonstrated only in trace amounts after 3-4 weeks of culture. On the other hand, the production of albumin was weakly evident early and became more and more evident after the second week in culture. Hydrocortisone modulated AFP and albumin production. The effect of hydrocortisone was to prolong expression of AFP and to reduce expression of albumin. Electron microscopic observations showed that the cultures consisted of organelle-rich parenchymal cells associated with the pigskin basement membrane by pseudopod-like structures. These results indicate that fetal mouse parenchymal cells were cultured and modulated on a pigskin epidermal substrate.