[Experiments on the excitability of the cultured embryonic epidermis cells of Cynops orientalis].
It has been reported that in Cynops orientalis the cells in the atypical epidermis resulted from isolation of the ectoderm from the early gastrula and cultured in vitro possesses very low excitability. The great majority of the explants didn't display action potential (AP) with electric stimulus up to 6 V duration 1 ms). If, however, the epidermis was taken from the flank region of a neurula with the underlying mesoderm, in such explant the epidermis cells became excitable at a lower threshold of stimulus. The mesoderm seemed to exert some influence upon the epidermis. In order to study whether tissues other than mesoderm possess similar effect on the excitability of epidermis cells, different combinations of explants were made with the experimental embryological technique and their excitability was examined electrophysiologically. In all experiments the explants were stimulated extracellularly and the action potential was recorded intracellularly. The specimens were stimulated with electric stimulus at 6 V at first, and, if they displayed AP the strength was lowered to determine the threshold of stimulus to evoke AP. The duration of stimulus was fixed at 1 ms. For the control of all series, the ectoderm or epidermis was isolated at the same stage and cultured for the same length of period as the experimental explants but without any treatment. 1). The effect of calf serum. In this group the effect of calf serum was examined and following series were carried out: a) Gastrula ectoderm cultured in Holtfreter solution containing 10% calf serum; b) calf serum + agar as implant: calf serum was mixed with agar (1:1) and cut into small pieces when cooled, and the serum + agar pieces were wrapped with ectoderm; c) heated serum + agar, heated serum was mixed 1:1 with agar and the small pieces were wrapped with ectoderm. In all the experiments the excitability of the epidermis cells was raised more or less but the agar pieces containing fresh serum seemed to be more effective, perhaps due to the higher concentration of the serum and the intimate contact with the epidermis cells (Tab. 1) In the series with serum + agar as implant and in the series with heated serum + agar as implant, it occurred frequently that during cultivation the implants will be extruded and after the extrusion of the implant the remaining epidermis became less sensitive to stimulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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D000200:Action Potentials; D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D000078404:Epidermal Cells; D004817:Epidermis / Q000502:physiology*; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D012455:Salamandridae / Q000196:embryology / Q000502:physiology*; D014981:Xenopus / Q000196:embryology