Effect of aflatoxin B1 on the ultrastructural and biochemical development of chick embryo liver during organ culture.

When liver fragments from eleven-day chick embryos were maintained on Eagle's minimal essential medium by the established method of organ culture, they developed ultrastructural features similar to liver cells in vivo, except that they had small amounts of smooth endoplasmic reticulum and little glycogen. The cultured liver cells synthesized DNA, RNA and protein. The addition of aflatoxin B1 to the medium inhibited the synthesis of nucleic acid. Aflatoxin B1 also produced the segregation of granular and fibrillar components in nucleoli and the disarrangement of ribosomes attached to endoplasmic reticulum. Since these results were consistent with the known effects of the toxin in animals, we concluded that organ culture of chick embryo liver could be a useful technique for other studies.