Organ cultures of rat and hamster colon.

Human fibrin foam as a matrix for three-dimensional organ cultures was successfully employed for the cultivation of newborn rat and hamster colon tissue. Colonic tissue was maintained under different oxygen atmospheres and with various synthetic media. Explants of rat and hamster colon, maintained in Leibovitz's L-15 medium buffered with HEPES in the presence of 5% CO2 and air, retained their normal columnar epithelial architecture for 24 days in culture. Outgrowth of epithelial cells from colonic explants similar to those of the mother fragments grew into the foam. Viability of the explants was indicated by radioactive thymidine incorporation, and by the ability of the fragments to support viral replication.