Abstract
We established a new culture method of mouse gallbladder epithelial cells. Explantation of a tiny fragment of the mouse gallbladder (microexplant) on the collagen gel allowed the epithelial cells to proliferate on the collagen gel for more than 4 weeks. The epithelial cells spreaded in a monolayer sheet from the microexplant and extended onto the surface of the collagen gel 0.31±0.02mm per day. Whereas, contaminated stromal cells proliferated under the epithelial cell layer and into the collagen gel. At the peripheral zone of epithelial sheet, the shape of the epithelial cells was squamous, and the cells were frequently positive for BrdU immunostaining, indicating the high proliferative activity. In contrast, the cells in the central part of epithelial sheet were cuboidal or low columnar in shape and showed well cell-polarity and mucus-secretory activity similar to the gallbladder epithelia in vivo. It was indicated that the cultured epithelial cells in this system preserved the morphological and functinal differentiation to the physiological gallbladder epithelia. This newly established culture method has the characteristics of both the organ and the cell culture, and might be useful for the morphological and functional studies of the gallbladder epithelia in vitro.
