Tissue culture in nephrology: Potential and limits for the study of renal disease

Abstract

Kidney cells, when isolated and cultivated in vitro, retain differentiated renal properties. Glomerular epithelial and mesangial cells from animal and human kidneys express their normal ultrastructure and the ability for basement membrane biosynthesis. Mesangial cells in culture have been utilized particularly for the study of hormonal tissue receptors, of prostaglandin production, and of their contractile response to various hormonal stimuli. Cells of tubule origin have been a valuable tool for the study of transport mechanism which, as a consequence of the heterogeneity of nephron functions, can not be assessed in vivo. Ion transport and its structural basis, as well as transport regulation by hormones has been studied in established epithelial cell lines. Induction of ion transport and enzyme activities, and the control of cell proliferation and differentiation has also been succesfully evaluated in cultured epithelia derived from the kidney. Future work will attempt to prepare cell lines from defined nephron segments to study chemical and physical phenomena of renal disease.

Localization of Tamm-Horsfall-glycoprotein-like immunoreactivity in cultured baby-hamster kidney cells, shown by immunofluorescence and by light- and electron-microscopic immunoperoxidase techniques

“…However, subsequent evidence suggests that the dominant cell in the dog kidney cell line, MDCK, has epithelial-cell properties. This conclusion was reached from the results of electrophysicochemical (Richardson et al, 1981), biochemical, hormonal (Ishizuka et al, 1978;Horster, 1980;Saier, 1981) and morphological (Rindler et al, 1979) studies. McRoberts et al (1981) concluded that 'MDCK cell monolayers are morphologically, functionally and biochemically similar to epithelia from the distal tubule of the kidney'.…”

Monolayer cultures of microdissected renal tubule epithelial segments

“…Several techniques are described for the culture of renal epithelia, some to be found in this journal issue and others in recent extensive review articles (1)(2)(3). Each individual technique has its particular virtues, and selection for use will depend on the nature of the questions being examined.…”

Glycoprotein Synthesis of Renal Collecting Duct Epithelium Cultured as Globular Bodies

“…Isolation and cultivation of a homogeneous and differentiated renal cell population in sufficient amounts for incuba tion experiments is difficult to accomplish. Recently, however, cultures of glomerular [1] and tubular cells [2,3] have been devel oped but most often have been used to mea sure either transport capabilities or hor monal responses. Only in relatively few cases have radiolabellcd precursor incuba tions been performed to study the synthesis of glycoproteins of whole glomeruli [4] and the glycosaminoglycan biosynthesis of epi thelial and mesangial cells [5].…”