Abstract
Long-term culture by extended serial passage of renal glomerular epithelial cells has not yet been described in detail, although it has been known that the cells exhibit outgrowth from isolated glomeruli in primary culture. In the present review article, establishment and characterization of an epithelial cell line, SGE1, from isolated rat glomeruli are described. In the serum-free condition, SGE1 cells required collagen type 1 or IV-coated substratum for cell adhesion and growth. Essential medium supplements for the adhesion and growth were epidermal growth factor and transferrin, respectively. Morphological observations found that in a monolayer culture, SGE1 cells formed typical domes, and in a collagen-embedding culture, they formed cystic spheres having features of a simple cuboidal epithelium. We also found that retinyl acetate regulated morphology, functions, and growth of cells. In addition, SGE1 cells expressed Fx1A antigens, which are nephritogenic antigens localized on their microvilli.
