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Gland formation from human endometrial epithelial cells in vitro

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Summary

We have developed methods for the culture of human endometrial glandular epithelia in vitro. The culture medium is serum-free and is used in combination with Matrigel, an extracellular matrix material applied as a coating on cell culture plates. Cell growth begins as a monolayer, but the cells subsequently form glandular or organoid structures. The glands are composed of polar columnar cells facing a central lumen, which is enclosed by the apical surfaces of cells displaying numerous microvilli and sealed by tight junction complexes. The ability to study in vitro the complex process of glandular morphogenesis represents an important new tool in cell biology which may be used to investigate growth regulation, hormone production and dependency, and cellular recognition and interactions. Ultimately, these characteristics may be applied to study the alterations of glandular epithelia associated with neoplasia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Department of Pathology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7525, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    Clifford A. Rinehart Jr., Beverly D. Lyn-Cook & David G. Kaufman

  2. Lineberger Cancer Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 27599-7525, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

    David G. Kaufman

Authors
  1. Clifford A. Rinehart Jr.
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  2. Beverly D. Lyn-Cook
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  3. David G. Kaufman
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Additional information

This work was supported by NIH grants CA31733 and CA09156 and NIEHS contract ES55092

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Rinehart, C.A., Lyn-Cook, B.D. & Kaufman, D.G. Gland formation from human endometrial epithelial cells in vitro. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol 24, 1037–1041 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02620878

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02620878

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