[1] The major advantage of explant culture is the maintenance of near in vivo environment in the laboratory for a short duration of time.
[2] This ex vivo model requires a highly maintained environment in order to recreate original cellular conditions.
The composition of extracellular matrix, for example, must be precisely similar to that of in vivo conditions in order to induce naturally observed behaviors of cells.
For example, neural tissue development and central nervous system regeneration have been studied with organotypic explant culture.
Another case was from a team at University College, London, UK, which transplanted a wind pipe derived from the patient's own stem cells.
Understanding retina's development has led the way for researchers to study pathological neurodegeneration and related retinal diseases more closely.