Shiojiri N, Koike T
Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shizuoka University, Japan.
Tohoku J Exp Med. 1997 Jan;181(1):1-8. doi: 10.1620/tjem.181.1.
Differentiation of biliary epithelial cells from hepatic endodermal cells of the mouse embryo was examined with a special attention to the role of the connective tissue. When the whole liver primordium of the 9.5-day mouse embryo was cultured in vitro for 5 days, the endodermal cells differentiated into mature hepatocytes expressing carbamoylphosphate synthetase I (CPSI) and accumulating glycogen. Intrahepatic bile duct cells and connective tissue were poorly developed in this culture. However, when the hepatic endoderm was recombined with the 4-day embryonic chick lung mesenchyme and cultured in vitro, the endodermal cells differentiated into many ductal epithelial cells as well as mature hepatocytes with abundant connective tissue development. These results suggest that the ducts might be bile ducts, and that connective tissue is very important for bile duct development. In addition, this in vitro culture system might be useful for the study of mechanisms of bile duct differentiation and congenital biliary atresia.
研究了小鼠胚胎肝内胚层细胞向胆管上皮细胞的分化过程，特别关注了结缔组织的作用。当将9.5天龄小鼠胚胎的整个肝原基在体外培养5天时，内胚层细胞分化为表达氨甲酰磷酸合成酶I（CPSI）并积累糖原的成熟肝细胞。在此培养物中，肝内胆管细胞和结缔组织发育不良。然而，当肝内胚层与4天龄胚胎鸡肺间充质重组并在体外培养时，内胚层细胞分化为许多导管上皮细胞以及成熟肝细胞，同时结缔组织大量发育。这些结果表明这些导管可能是胆管，并且结缔组织对胆管发育非常重要。此外，这种体外培养系统可能有助于研究胆管分化机制和先天性胆管闭锁。
