Intestinal cytodifferentiation in vitro of chick stomach endoderm induced by the duodenal mesenchyme.

The inductive action of duodenal mesenchyme on the cytodifferentiation of stomach endoderm in chick embryos was investigated in vitro with electron microscopy and immunofluorescence. Morphologically undifferentiated endoderm of the stomach of a 4-day embryo could differentiate only into a mucous secretory epithelium when cultured in the absence of mesenchyme. However, when cultivated in recombination with 6-day duodenal mesenchyme, most cells of 4-day stomach endoderm differentiated into intestinal absorptive cells possessing striated border and sucrase, and goblet cells, but not into stomach-type mucous secretory cells. In contrast, when 4-day stomach endoderm was cultured recombined with mesenchyme of embryonic digestive organs other than intestine, none of the stomach endoderm cells differentiated into intestinal epithelial cells. The competence of stomach endoderm for intestinal cytodifferentiation decreased rapidly with development, but remained until relatively later stages in the gizzard region. The present investigation demonstrates that duodenal mesenchyme can induce stomach endoderm, which has acquired the potency for self-differentiation into stomach-type epithelium, to cytodifferentiate into intestinal epithelium.