Summary As experimental models for breast cancer, most studies rely on established human breast cancer cell lines. However, many of these lines were established over 20 years ago, many from pleural effusions rather than the primary tumour, so the validity of using them as representative models is questionable. This paper describes our experiences, over a 3-year period, in establishing short-term epithelial-cellenriched preparations from primary breast tumours based on differential centrifugation followed by culture in selective media. Epithelial cells were successfully cultured from 55% of samples, but culture success did not appear to be correlated with tumour histology, stage, grade or node status. Epithelial cell-enriched cultures were immunopositive for broad-spectrum cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA). Positivity for keratin 19 confirmed that the cultures contained tumour-derived cells, which additionally showed significantly higher activity of the reductive pathway of the steroid-converting enzyme 17p-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1. That the cultures contained tumour and not normal epithelial cells was further substantiated by the complete absence of the calmodulin-like gene NB-1 in tumour-derived cultures; this is only associated with normal breast epithelia. Eighty-five per cent of cultures established from oestrogen receptor (ER)-positive tumours expressed ER in vitro; this was functional in 66% of cultures, although ER-positive phenotype was gradually lost over time. In conclusion, epithelial cells can be isolated and maintained as short-term cultures from primary breast tumours irrespective of histopathological or clinical details, providing a model system with a greater biological and clinical relevance than breast cancer cell lines.

Purpose Infantile aphakic glaucoma may develop as a postoperative complication of early childhood cataract surgery. Its causes and mechanisms to date are poorly understood. Our goal is to study the mechanisms leading to trabecular meshwork (TM) dysfunction and glaucoma following the cataract removal. We focus on deciphering the interactions between TM cells and lens tissue or conditioned medium by analyzing changes in TM cells co‐cultured with lens epithelial cells (LECs), or cultured in the presence of factors found to be secreted by LECs. Methods These interactions are studied by analyzing for morphological alternations, and differential gene and protein expression. Factors secreted by LECs are analyzed using cytokines array membranes. Results TM cells grown in the presence of LECs exhibited structural changes (mainly volume and size enlargement and decreased cell‐cell interactions), as well as altered protein expression (mainly cytoskeletal), and gene expression (such as genes related to cell morphogenesis and inflammatory response). Several cytokines were found to be elevated in the medium of LECs, and of the co‐culture, but not in the medium of TM cells, suggesting their role in the changes observed in TM cells co cultured with LECs; co‐culture of TM cells in the presence of these cytokines will be further performed. Conclusion Many of these changes were reported in primary open‐angle glaucoma, suggesting the possible role of LECs in the development of aphakic glaucoma.