Primary human oral epithelial cells are readily available and have been recently employed for tissue engineering. These cells are currently being widely utilized in multiple research efforts, ranging from the study of oral biology, mucosal immunity, and carcinogenesis to stem cell bi ...
The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) is implicated in many eye diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, and therefore isolating and culturing these cells from recently deceased adult human donors is the ideal source for disease studies. Adult RPE could also be used as a cell s ...
The surface of the eye is exposed to the outside world and is, thus, subject to surface abrasion, infections, and drying, cicatrizing diseases. Availability of in vitro methods for culture of the human corneal and conjunctival epithelia, which cover the ocular surface, is therefore important in ...
Chemical homeostasis in the extracellular fluid of the central nervous system (CNS) is maintained by two brain barrier systems, i.e., the blood–brain barrier (BBB) that separates the blood circulation from brain interstitial fluid and the blood–cerebrospinal fluid barrier (BCB) that ...
Approximately 18% of human cancers have a viral etiology and the majority of these involve transformation of epithelial cells. Viral proteins transform epithelia by inducing alterations in the normal cell growth and differentiation pathways through the targeting of host proteins. ...
Even now, most human cell lines used in research are derived from tumor cells. They are still widely used because they grow well in vitro and so far have helped answering several basic biological questions. However, as modern biology moves into more sophisticated areas, scientists now need human c ...
The morphogenesis of ectodermal organs is regulated by epithelial mesenchymal interactions mediated by conserved signaling molecules. Analyzing the roles of these molecules will increase our understanding of mechanisms regulating organogenesis, and organ culture meth ...
Urothelial cells line the urinary tract, including the renal pelvis, ureters, bladder, superior urethra, and the central ducts of the prostate. They are highly specialized epithelial cell types possessing unique features, imparting important functional roles in the urinary system. ...
Basic and translational (or preclinical) prostate cancer research has traditionally been conducted with a limited repertoire of immortalized cell lines, which have homogeneous phenotypes and have adapted to long-term tissue culture. Primary cell culture provides a model system ...
It has been more than 30 years since the serial cultivation of human keratinocytes in monolayer culture was first described by Rheinwald and Green. Initially, isolation of primary keratinocytes from disaggregated human skin tissue and subsequent propagation was promoted through use ...
The pulmonary alveolar epithelium, comprised of alveolar Type I (TI) and Type II (TII) cells, covers more than 99% of the internal surface area of the lungs. The study of isolated and cultured alveolar epithelial TI and TII cells has provided a large amount of information about the functions of both cell t ...
Cultured mouse epidermal keratinocytes provide a powerful model for studying epidermal proliferation, differentiation, pathogenesis, and oncogenic transformation. Primary mouse keratinocytes can be isolated from newborn mice, and their growth and differentiation c ...
Organs are made of the organized assembly of different cell types that contribute to the architecture necessary for functional differentiation. In those with exocrine function, such as the breast, cell–cell and cell–extracellular matrix (ECM) interactions establish mechanist ...
The mammary gland is an ideal “model organism” for studying tissue specificity and gene expression in mammals: it is one of the few organs that develop after birth and it undergoes multiple cycles of growth, differentiation and regression during the animal’s lifetime in preparation for the imp ...
The thymus organ is composed of a three-dimensional (3D) network of adjoining epithelium and stromal cells. Bone marrow-derived T cell precursors, upon entering the thymus, interact with and migrate through this cellular network as they differentiate and mature. An essential compone ...
Liver regenerates after hepatectomy or chemical-induced injury. In contrast to cells in other tissues that can regenerate, mature cells (hepatocytes), but not undifferentiated stem cells, are mainly responsible for acute liver regeneration. Liver stem cells take part in liver rege ...
The liver is the largest internal organ in mammals, serving a wide spectrum of vital functions. Loss of liver function due to drug toxicity or viral infection is a major cause of death in the United States. The development of Bioartificial Liver (BAL) devices and the demand for pharmaceutical and cosm ...
Cholangiocytes are epithelial cells that line the biliary tract and are also known as biliary epithelial cells (BECs). In vitro culture studies of BECs in correlation with tissue section examination may give us a comprehensive analysis of biliary tract diseases. Herein, we discuss genetic ...
The intestinal epithelium is the most rapidly self-renewing tissue in adult mammals. We have recently shown that Lgr5 (Leucine-rich repeat-containing G protein-coupled receptor) is expressed in intestinal stem cells by an in vivo genetic lineage tracing strategy. In the past, extensi ...
Drosophila epithelial research is at the forefront of the field; however, there are no well-characterized epithelial cell lines that could provide a complementary in vitro model for studies conducted in vivo. Here, a protocol is described that produces epithelial cell lines. The method us ...