[40] Cold-blooded vertebrate cell and tissue culture

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses methods of cell and tissue culture ranging from the very simple to the highly complex and demanding. Many of the methods can be routine, but cultures are biological systems that can and at times do evade absolute control. Most of today's animal cell and tissue culture involves materials of mammalian and secondarily, of avian origin. Reptiles, amphibians, and fishes—the poikilotherm vertebrates—are used the least. The methods can be considered realistically as simply being vertebrate cell and tissue culture. Although commonly referred to as “fishes,” the elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, rays, and allied forms) and the cyclostomes (lampreys and hagfishes) differ considerably from teleosts or bony fishes. Culture of cells and tissues from the last two classes of vertebrates described as being in the exploratory or developmental stage. The chapter enables the reader to culture lower vertebrate cells or tissues successfully. There are review type references on culture of reptile materials by Clark, on that of amphibians by Freed and Mezger–Freed and Rounds, and on fishes by McKenzie and Stephenson, Sigel and Beasley, and Wolf. Some differences between homeotherm and poikilotherm vertebrates are presented—namely, their environments and health histories. The chapter also discusses physiological salines. The usual composition of physiological salines or balanced salt solutions (BSS) for vertebrates is an isotonic salt solution containing the essential physiologic ions, a system for maintaining pH in the physiological range, an energy source, and, unless contraindicated, phenol red as a pH indicator.