Organ Engineering

The following pages contain short Quicktime-sequences
from my videotape about rescue experiments of the heart 
anlage (primordium) and formation of ectopic hearts.
Grunz, H.(1999). Amphibian embryos as a model system for organ engineering: 
in vitro induction and recue of the heart anlage. Int.J.Dev.Biol. 43: 361-364.
International Journal of Developmental Biology.

Short description of the method(see Fig.below):
Heart structures were induced under in vitro  conditions
by treatment of isolated Spemann organizer with Suramin
(see Grunz,1992). 
1.  Rescue experiment: The heart primordium of host embryos
was removed and replaced by in vitro cultured heart tissue (rescue
of the heart anlage,see Fig.E, F1). The embryos developed into 
normal larvae with beating heart(movie).
2. Embryos without heart anlage (heart primordium removed at 
stage 20) showed severe hypotrophy, because the kidneys (pronephros)
could not function properly without a beating heart and an active 
circulatory system (movie).
3. Ectopic hearts:in vitro induced heart was transplanted 
into the posterior trunk area. The larvae formed ectopic
heart structures in addition to the normal one (Fig.D, F2) 
(movie).

 movie. Larva after rescue of the heart primordium