Fig. 1.

Fibrin hydrogel-supported 3-dimensional organ culture of the gastric submucosa (GS). (A) Phase-contrast microphotographs show robust cell outgrowth into the hydrogel from the embedded GS. High-power observation discloses outgrown cells with the fibroblastoid feature in the hydrogel (a) and in situ renewed cells inside of the GS (b). (B) After two weeks of organ culture, the number of cells increases in the fibrin hydrogel (FG) and the GS. Most cells express or incorporate proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) or bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU). (C) The limited dilution assay indicates the highly clonogenic potential of recovered outgrown cells from the hydrogel with fibroblastoid morphology. H&E, hematoxylin and eosin.