Organ culture of adult rat and mouse tracheal epithelium: I. Ultrastructure following various culture periods.

Electron microscopic studies of adult rat and mouse tracheal epithelium maintained in organ culture for a period of up to 6 days were performed. In specimens cultured for 60 minutes no conspicuous micromorphological alterations could be observed. Following culture periods from 1-6 days the number of cilia in some of the ciliated cells was reduced while their structure and the other ultrastructural details of the epithelial cells were preserved. In specimens cultured for 5-6 days some additional alterations could be noticed: polymorphism of mitochondria, increased number of lysosomes, appearance of intracellular vacuoles, exhaustion of goblet cells and disappearance of granulated mast-cell like cells in the rat tracheal epithelium.