Liver cell differentiation in a chemically defined medium. Morphologic and enzymatic comparisons of in utero rat liver and liver rudiment grown in organ culture.

The liver diverticulum of the 11-day rat embryo has been grown in a chemically defined medium. Cytodifferentiation and enzymatic activities in the organ culture have been compared with those in the embryonic liver developing in vivo. In the absence of hormone and tissue extracts the liver diverticulum grew and differentiated extensively in the synthetic medium. The appearance and development of cytoplasmic organelles (rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum, Golgi complex and glycogen particles) and enzymatic activity (glycogen synthetase) in both the embryonic liver and the comparable organ-cultured liver diverticulum were parallel.