Confrontation of an invasive (MO4) and a noninvasive (MDCK) cell line with embryonic chick heart fragments in serum-free culture media.

Confronting cultures of precultured embryonic chick heart fragments (PHF) with aggregates of malignant cells in vitro have been shown to be relevant for a number of aspects of tumor invasion in vivo. Preculture of the heart fragments, formation of cell aggregates, and subsequent culture of confronting pairs have so far been done only in serum-containing culture media. We describe here confronting cultures of PHF with invasive MO4 mouse cell aggregates or noninvasive MDCK dog kidney cell aggregates in serum-free media. Heart fragments precultured in the absence of serum seemed to be necrotic after confronting culture in serum-free media. However, preculturing in media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum allowed us to do subsequent confronting cultures in absence of serum. Cell aggregates were also prepared in serum-containing medium. MO4 cells occupied and replaced the heart tissue within 4 d, whereas MDCK cells remained at the periphery of the PHF. This indicates that serum-free confronting cultures can discriminate between invasive and noninvasive cells. The viability of individual PHF and cell aggregates cultured in the same way as in confrontations was ascertained by histology and by explantation and postculturing on a solid tissue culture substrate. Growth of the cultures was smaller in serum-free media than in media supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. The main advantage of serum-free culture conditions in vitro is the elimination of the influence of serum components on invasion, and the ability to examine the effect on invasion of drugs that are susceptible to inactivation by serum.