Serial cultivation of normal rat bladder epithelial cells in vitro

Urine-Derived Stem Cells: Applications in Regenerative and Predictive Medicine

Despite being a biological waste, human urine contains a small population of cells with self-renewal capacity and differentiation potential into several cell types. Being derived from the convoluted tubules of nephron, renal pelvis, ureters, bladder and urethra, urine-derived stem cells (UDSC) have a similar phenotype to mesenchymal stroma cells (MSC) and can be reprogrammed into iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells). Having simple, safer, low-cost and noninvasive collection procedures, the interest in UDSC has been growing in the last decade. With great potential in regenerative medicine applications, UDSC can also be used as biological models for pharmacology and toxicology tests. This review describes UDSC biological characteristics and differentiation potential and their possible use, including the potential of UDSC-derived iPSC to be used in drug discovery and toxicology, as well as in regenerative medicine. Being a new cellular platform amenable to noninvasive collection for disease stratification and personalized therapy could be a future application for UDSC.

Pioglitazone Use and Risk of Bladder Cancer: an In Vitro Study

Aims: Whether pioglitazone (PIO), a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma agonist, increases the risk of developing bladder cancer has been debated for several years. The aim of this study was to investigate the in vitro effects of PIO on normal urothelial transitional epithelium (NUTE) cells and bladder cancer (J82) cells to further evaluate the risk. Methods: NUTE cells were obtained from Sprague-Dawley rats. NUTE and J82 cells were treated with different concentrations of PIO for various time periods. Cell proliferation was tested by the MTT assay. Cell apoptosis was evaluated by flow cytometry. The expressions of p53, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, and Bax were determined by qRT-PCR and western blots. Results: After 24 hours, the treatment of NUTE cells with 10 μmol/L PIO led to morphological changes, without changes in J82 cells. Moreover, PIO inhibited the proliferation and induced apoptosis of NUTE cells, but not J82 cells, in a time- and dose-dependent manner. However, PIO did not alter the growth of cells from other tissues. In addition, treatment with PIO for up to 72 hours did not result in changes in the expressions of p53, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, and Bax in NUTE cells and J82 cells. Interestingly, PIO significantly downregulated the protein levels of p53 and cyclin D1 in J82 cells, but not NUTE cells after more than 192 hours of treatment. Conclusions: PIO did not promote malignant alterations of NUTE cells or stimulate proliferation of J82 cells. PIO decreased the expression of p53 and cyclin D1 in J82 cells after long-term culture, which suggested that PIO may be helpful for diabetic patients with bladder cancer.

Urothelial cell culture: stratified urothelial sheet and three-dimensional growth of urothelial structure

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. They act as a permeability barrier and protect underlying muscle tissues from the caustic effects of urine while also expanding with bladder filling to adjust urine pressures. The multilayered urothelium is typically structured with differentiated, mature surface cells and less mature basal cells. The basal cell layer contains tissue-specific stem cells able to self-renew for the lifetime of the mammal and also produces a pool of maturing cells for tissue homeostasis. Maintaining regenerative basal cells in a culture facilitates urothelial cell growth in vitro. Additionally, epithelial-mesenchymal communication, epithelial-matrix interactions, and cytokines/growth factors are required to maintain the normal structure and function of mature urothelial cells in vitro and to induce stem cell differentiation into urothelial cells. These cultures are useful to study the biology and physiology of the urinary tract, particularly for the development of cell-based tissue engineering strategies in urology. This chapter describes methods for the isolation of urothelial cells and their maintenance in monolayer culture, and methods for the production of multilayer urothelial cell sheets and three-dimensional cocultures of urothelial and mesenchymal cells.

Urothelial cell culture

This chapter reviews the use of urothelial cells as a means to enhance tissue regeneration and wound healing in urinary tract system. It addresses the properties of urothelial cells, including their role as a permeability barrier to protect underlying muscle tissue from the caustic effects of urine and as one of the main cell types, along with smooth muscle cells, that are used in urethral or bladder tissue engineering today. This description includes a general overview of various isolation techniques and culture methods that have been developed to improve urinary tract reconstruction in vivo and aid the characterization of growth factor expression in vitro. The chapter then describes various applications using urothelial cells, including production of multilayer urothelial sheets, tissue engineered bladder mucosa, tissue engineered urethra, and tissue engineered bladder. It also outlines the advantages of sandwich and layered coculture of these cells and the effects of epithelial-stromal cell interactions during tissue regeneration or wound healing processes in the urinary tract.

Bladder tissue formation from cultured bladder urothelium

Tissue recombination is a powerful method to evaluate the paracrine-signaling events that orchestrate the development of organs using the in vivo environment of a host rodent. Studies have reported the successful generation of primary cultures of rodent bladder urothelium, but none have reported their use to recapitulate bladder tissue with tissue recombination. We propose that primary cultured bladder urothelium, when recombined with inductive embryonic bladder mesenchyme, will form bladder tissue in a recombination model. Adult rat bladders were isolated and urothelium obtained. Sheets of bladder urothelium were re-suspended in collagen and maintained in tissue culture. After expansion (>20 passages), the urothelium was recombined with embryonic day-14 mouse bladder mesenchyme, then grafted beneath the renal capsule of immunocompromised mouse hosts. Grafts were harvested after 28 days. Control grafts were performed with bladder mesenchyme alone, cultured bladder urothelium alone, and collagen matrix alone. Final tissues were evaluated with staining and immunohistochemistry (H&E, Gomori's trichrome, broad-spectrum uroplakin, and smooth muscle actin alpha and gamma). Immunocytochemistry on cultured urothelium for broad-spectrum keratin, vimentin, and broad-spectrum uroplakin confirmed pure populations, void of mesenchymal contaminants. Staining of recombinant grafts demonstrated bladder tissue with mature urothelium and stromal differentiation. Control tissues were void of bladder tissue formation. We have successfully demonstrated that a chimeric bladder is formed from primary cultured bladder urothelium recombined with embryonic bladder mesenchyme. This is a powerful new tool for investigating the molecular mechanisms of bladder development and disease. Future applications may include the in vitro genetic manipulation of urothelium and examining those effects on growth and development in an in vivo environment.

Experimental models of human bladder carcinogenesis

Bladder cancer is the fifth most common cancer in the UK, yet human bladder carcinogenesis remains poorly understood and the response of bladder tumours to radio- and chemo-therapy is unpredictable. The aims of this article are to review human bladder carcinogenesis and appraise the different in vitro and in vivo approaches that have been developed to study the process. The review considers how in vitro models based on normal human urothelial (NHU) cells can be applied to human bladder cancer research. We conclude that recent advances in NHU cell culture offer novel approaches for defining urothelial tissue-specific responses to genotoxic and non-genotoxic carcinogens and elucidating the role of specific genes involved in the mechanisms of bladder carcinogenesis and malignant progression.

Juxtacrine stimulation of normal and malignant human bladder epithelial cell proliferation

PURPOSE

We developed a method for culturing normal and malignant human bladder epithelial cells for many generations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Cells from bladder washes or surgical specimens were plated in culture with lethally irradiated cells of the LA7 rat mammary tumor line (American Type Culture Collection, Bethesda, Maryland) at a confluent density and fed regularly. After cells from surgical specimens became confluent they were diluted and subcultured with fresh irradiated LA7 cells. The growth rate was measured by cell counts and cell sorter analysis. Expression of intermediate filaments was determined by immunocytochemical testing.

RESULTS

All 5 normal and 3 of the 4 tumor specimens developed into long-term cell strains. A single normal strain was carried through passage 11, amounting to 37 cell doublings. Cell numbers doubled in 2 days in medium with 0.5% serum and in 5.6 days in 5% serum. Plating efficiency was almost 100% and cloning efficiency was approximately 9%. LA7 conditioned medium did not stimulate bladder cell proliferation. Two tumor strains were carried through passage 9, amounting to 20 and 27 doublings, respectively. No cell strains expressed signs of senescence at culture termination. Normal and tumor strains expressed keratins 7, 10, 11, 18 and 19, and ZO1 tight junction protein but not vimentin or keratin 14. Umbrella cells comprised the uppermost cell layer in cultures from normal bladder.

CONCLUSIONS

LA7 feeder cells stimulate human bladder cell proliferation for many generations in culture by a juxtacrine mechanism and promote the expression of differentiated traits.

Expansion and long-term culture of differentiated normal rat urothelial cells in vitro

The objective of this study is to establish a reliable cell culture system for the long-term culture of rat urothelial cells (RUC), in which the cells multiply in vitro and form stratified polarized urothelium. Urothelial cells were harvested by the enzymatic digestion of the urothelium exposed by the eversion of resected rat bladders. Primary cultures were initiated in keratinocyte serum-free medium (KSFM) for selective proliferation of urothelial cells. Subsequently, the cells were propagated in a mixture of conditioned medium (CM) derived from Swiss 3T3 cell culture supernatant and KSFM (CM-KSFM). Mean population doubling time was 13.8 +/- 0.9 h. RUC were successfully maintained for 18 passages over a period of 4-5 mo. Detailed investigations of culture conditions showed that CM-KSFM yielded a differentiated multilayer structure. The stratified urothelial sheets measuring 4 x 6 cm2 could be formed and then detached using dispase. Cytokeratin pattern in both the cultured urothelial monolayer and engineered stratified layers was similar to those seen in vivo, as assessed with monoclonal antibody against cytokeratin 17. Ultrastructural morphology showed microvilli, basal cell layer, and desmosomes between adjacent cells in the stratified urothelium.

A model of superficial bladder cancer using fluorescent tumour cells in an organ-culture system

OBJECTIVE

To develop a reproducible in vitro simulation of superficial bladder cancer for testing cytotoxic agents at clinically relevant concentrations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Square explants (5 mm) of rat bladder were cultured in Petri dishes in minimal volumes of Waymouth's MB 752/1 medium supplemented with 10% fetal calf serum, antibiotics and glutamine. Parental and resistant MGH-U1 urothelial cancer cells were transfected with a green fluorescent protein (GFP) vector. Transfectants were purified by flow cytometry. Cells were seeded onto the prepared organ cultures and images obtained using confocal microscopy. The tumour colonies were confirmed using scanning electron microscopy. Conventional intravesical cytotoxic agents including epirubicin, mitomycin-C and estramustine were tested in the system.

RESULTS

Colonies of GFP-MGH-U1 cells became established on the explants and were identified by confocal microscopy; the development of the colonies was then followed over several days. Staining the explant for viability allowed imaging of normal urothelium on the explant surface or surrounding skirt of urothelial cells. The conventional cytotoxic agents epirubicin, mitomycin C and estramustine showed the expected differential responses to parental and resistant cell types. The colonies were able to survive high concentrations of the drug, equivalent to those in clinical use. The colonies were imaged serially over a period of several days.

CONCLUSION

This system provides a more realistic model for testing cytotoxic agents for use in intravesical therapy, by allowing clinically relevant concentrations of drugs to be tested. The differential properties of the parental and resistant cells are maintained. The model also enables the same tumour colony to be imaged over several days in culture. The model may also be adapted for use in testing the effects of drugs on normal urothelium and the study of the effects of growth factors.

Cultured porcine urinary bladder epithelial cells as a screening model for genotoxic effects of aromatic amines: characterisation and application of the cell culture model

Isolated epithelial cells from porcine urinary bladders were maintained in dividing long-term monolayer cultures, and were used as a model system for the urinary bladder in toxicological studies in vitro. To examine the state of differentiation during the culture period, the culture system was characterised morphologically by light and transmission electron microscopy and by immune fluorescence labelling with antibodies against cytokeratins 7,13 and pan. The cultured cells were identified as urothelial epithelium by their polarised structure, and by their expression of several uroepithelial specific morphological features, such as fusiform vesicles, tight junctions and an asymmetric apical cell membrane. Additionally, the cells were labelled with anti-cytokeratin 7,13 and pan antibodies, and negatively with anti-vimentin antibodies. The maintenance of suitable culture conditions was shown by the stable enzyme activities of (gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase, alkaline phosphatase and acid phosphatase over a culture period of 4 weeks. A good viability of the cultured cells under the chosen culture conditions was shown by the presence of low amounts of lactate dehydrogenase (< of = 5%) in the culture medium. The activities of the chosen marker enzymes for cell differentiation (gamma-glutamyltranspeptidase), lysosomes (acid phosphatase) and luminal membranes (alkaline phosphatase) were relatively stable over the observed culture period. Enzyme activities involved in metabolism of xenobiotics were determined, to define the ability for metabolism in cultured cells compared with bladder tissue in situ. Several constitutive phase I and II enzyme activities were found to be stable during the culture period, indicating that the cultured cells should be able to metabolise xenobiotics in a comparable manner to the urothelium in vivo. The cytotoxic effects of xenobiotics were investigated and IC50 values were determined by means of lactate dehydrogenase leakage and inhibition of neutral red uptake. The induction of sister chromatid exchanges was used as a parameter for the genotoxic effects of several xenobiotics. This cell culture system was found to be a very good screening system for the testing of substances that affect the bladder, especially aromatic amines.

Mutations and expression of the p53 gene in rat bladder carcinomas and cell lines

Abnormalities of the p53 gene are frequently observed in human tumors, including urinary bladder carcinoma, suggesting that p53 plays an important role in human carcinogenesis. However, its role in rat bladder carcinogenesis is unclear. We investigated p53 gene mutations and expression in rat urinary bladder carcinogenesis in vivo and in vitro. Fifteen urothelial cell lines, including six untransformed (nontumorigenic) ones, six transformed (tumorigenic) in vitro, and three derived from tumors induced in vivo, were examined for p53 expression by immunochemical analysis and for p53 mutations; in addition, 81 rat bladders were analyzed immunohistochemically for p53 expression, and 23 rat bladder tumors were analyzed for p53 mutations. Four cell lines had mutations in the p53 gene. Two of these were missense point mutations, and the other two were splicing mutations. On the other hand, no mutations were found in the bladder tumors induced in rats. By immunoprecipitation with PAb240, which is supposed to be specific for mutant p53, we detected mutations in three of the cell lines; PAb240 did not react with wild-type p53. However, in all cell lines and in growing populations of primary cultured bladder urothelial cells, p53 expression was detected immunohistochemically or by western blotting using PAb240 or PAb 421 monoclonal antibodies. In a high percentage of transitional cell carcinomas, wild-type p53 expression was detected by immunohistochemical analysis with PAb240. These results suggest that p53 gene mutations may not occur frequently in rat bladder carcinogenesis in vivo but may occur in vitro and that p53 overexpression detected immunohistochemically is common and may be related to cell proliferation rather than to the presence of mutations in rat bladder carcinogenesis.

Cytotoxic effect of a fusion protein from transforming growth factor alpha and Pseudomonas exotoxin on rat and human bladder carcinoma cells in vitro

A protein formed by fusion of transforming growth factor alpha with Pseudomonas exotoxin (TGF alpha-PE40) has been shown to have the ability to kill or inhibit the growth of several carcinoma cell lines. This study was designed to evaluate the in vitro cytotoxic effects of TGF alpha-PE40 on rat and human bladder carcinoma cell lines with different biological potential, and normal rat urothelial cells. The rat cell lines used were D44c, LMC19, and MYU3L, which were established in our laboratory. Human cell lines used were RT4, T24, and 253J. As a normal control, we used the first-passage culture of normal rat bladder urothelium (RU-P1). We examined the number and affinity of epidermal growth factor receptors (EGFR) in these cells, the ability of TGF alpha-PE40 to bind EGFR, and the cytotoxic effect of TGF alpha-PE40 and PE40. Rat cell lines, D44c, LMC19, and MYU3L (EGFR = 4.9 x 10(3)-11.4 x 10(3)/cell) had ED50 values (the concentration of TGF alpha-PE40 needed to reduce the viable cell population by 50%) of 180 pM, 540 pM and 6000 pM respectively; for cI (the concentration required to achieve complete inhibition of growth under continuous serum stimulation) TGF alpha-PE40 concentrations of 10(4) pM, 10(4) pM and higher than 10(4) pM respectively were required. Human cell lines, RT4, T24, and 253J (EGFR = 32 x 10(3)-126 x 10(3)/cell) had ED50 values of 20 pM, 66 pM, and 330 pM respectively and T24 showed cI values of 10(3) pM. RU-P1 (EGFR = 92.6 x 10(3)/cell) had the highest ED50 value of 8000 pM. These data indicate that the susceptibility to TGF alpha-PE40 does not always depend on the number of EGFR, that cells having a relatively small number of EGFR respond well to TGF alpha-PE40, and that normal urothelial cells are more resistant to TGF alpha-PE40 than are cancer cells. The differential effect of TGF alpha-PE40 on normal and neoplastic cells provides a rational basis for its use in vivo to control tumor growth.

Effect of epidermal growth factor and transforming growth factor beta 1 on growth and invasive potentials of newly established rat bladder carcinoma cell lines

We established 5 rat bladder cell lines (MYU3L, MYU4, MYU6s, MYKU1L and MYP3). EGF stimulated DNA synthesis of all the cells in monolayer culture, regardless of the number of EGF receptors. In soft agar, only MYU3L formed colonies, and EGF enhanced their growth. However, EGF did not induce the other cells to grow in soft agar. In contrast, TGF-beta 1 inhibited the growth of the cells, but a tumorigenic cell and the cells which were established from large in vivo tumors were more resistant than the others to TGF-beta 1. We tested the effect of growth factors on the invasive potential of MYP3 cells (non-tumorigenic), MYU3L cells (tumorigenic/highly invasive but not metastatic) from newly established cell lines, and another metastatic cell line, LMC19. MYP3 expressed only a trace amount of 92-kDa gelatinase (MMP-9), whereas MYU3L expressed interstitial collagenase (MMP-1) and MMP-9, and LMC19 expressed 72-kDa gelatinase (MMP-2) and MMP-9. The release of MMP-2 in LMC19 was stimulated by TGF-beta 1, but EGF had no effect on the release of any MMPs in either type of cells. These observations suggest that EGF acted as a mitogen on all the cells tested, but did not enhance the malignant phenotype. Further, the loss of responsiveness to the suppressive effect of TGF-beta 1 may be an important step toward a malignant phenotype. Some of malignant tumors may utilize TGF-beta 1 for enhancing their invasive and metastatic potential.

The influence of age on collagen and non-collagen protein production by human gingival epithelial cells

The effects of donor age on the proliferation and secretory phenotype of cultured human gingival epithelial cells were investigated. Pure cultures of epithelial cells were isolated from human gingiva of old (61-75 yr) and young (18-30 yr) adults and serially cultivated in a serum-free medium at 37 degrees C in humidified air containing 5% CO2. For each experiment, cells were seeded at 150/mm2 and the medium changed every other day. Cell number, collagen and non-collagen protein production and relative collagen synthesis (percentage collagen synthesized) were determined at days 2, 4, 6 and 8. Epithelial strains from old and young adults became confluent by day 8 and there were no differences in their rates of proliferation. Likewise there was no difference in collagen production between the two groups; however, cells from elderly individuals produced significantly less non-collagen protein. Over time the decrease in non-collagen protein production ranged from 56% below the non-collagen protein levels of epithelium from young adults at day 2 to 24% below at day 8. The reduction of non-collagen protein coupled with the unchanged secretion of collagen resulted in a statistically significant increase in relative collagen synthesis by epithelial cells from elderly individuals. These differences in non-collagen protein production and relative collagen synthesis by cultured gingival epithelium of old adults suggest a selective conversion in protein secretion.

Desmoplakin expression and distribution in cultured rat bladder epithelial cells of varying tumorigenic potential

The expression and distribution of the desmosomal plaque proteins, desmoplakins (DPs) I and II, were studied in nontumorigenic (RBE-8) and a series of tumorigenic (AY34, R-4909, SS-24B, RBTCC-8, and 804G) rat bladder epithelial cell lines. These cell lines ranged from slow-growing papillary transitional cells (AY34) to rapidly metastatic carcinoma cells (RBTCC-8). DPs I and II were shown by immunoblotting and Northern analysis to be present in nontumorigenic RBE-8 cells as well as in all of the tumorigenic cell lines, albeit in differing amounts. Immunofluorescence microscopy revealed striking differences in DP distribution, corresponding in general with increases in tumorigenic potential. Whereas DPs of normal RBE-8 cells and less tumorigenic AY34 cells were localized predominantly at cell interfaces, the more tumorigenic lines exhibited a high proportion of DP in the form of cytoplasmic dots, a distribution reminiscent of that seen in epithelial cells maintained in low levels of extracellular calcium. In 804G cells, which represented the most extreme example of this phenomenon, the majority of DPs were organized as cytoplasmic dots. Electron microscopy revealed intermediate filament (IF)-associated spots in the cytoplasm as well as an elaborate array of IF-associated plaques at the cell-substratum interface. The IF-associated spots in the cytoplasm reacted with anti-DP antibody in immunogold labeling experiments while those at the cell-substratum did not react. In more dense cultures of 804G cells, certain cells stratified and expressed increased amounts of DP followed by the induction of new keratins including those of the skin type. Decreasing extracellular calcium resulted in a rearrangement of DP in each cell line; staining at cell-cell interfaces disappeared and was replaced with a pattern of cytoplasmic dots. These results demonstrate a possible relationship between desmosome assembly and/or maintenance and tumorigenic potential.

Clonal growth of normal human uroepithelial cells

We report the development of culture conditions which routinely support clonal growth of normal human uroepithelial cells (HUC). Secondary cultures seeded at clonal densities and grown under conditions described herein have a colony-forming efficiency (CFE) and colony size that will be useful for in vitro experiments. Primary cultures were dispersed to single cells and seeded in a supplemented Ham's F12 medium containing 1% fetal bovine serum together with 3 X 10(5) lethally irradiated Swiss 3T3 feeder cells on plastic substrates preequilibrated with F12 medium containing 5 or 10% serum. Using these conditions, the average CFE was 16.1 +/- 2.5%. A cloning efficiency of 4.9 +/- 1.5% was obtained under the same conditions in serum-free F12+ when supplemented with a mixture of trace elements or 0.1 mM ethanolamine. The epithelial nature of the cloned cells was confirmed by morphology and by positive immunofluorescent staining for human epithelial keratin proteins. To make this system useful for mutagenesis experiments, a clone of Swiss 3T3 feeder cells resistant to 5 micrograms/ml 6-thioguanine (6TG) was derived from the parental cell line. This 6-TG-resistant Swiss 3T3 clone supports HUC clonal growth with a CFE of 17.9 +/- 2.0% CFE. We also report clonal growth of HUC without feeder cells using supplemented MCDB 170 medium containing 70 micrograms/ml bovine pituitary extract. The average cloning efficiency using these conditions was 5.7 +/- 1.7%.

Epidermal growth factor--interactions with normal and malignant urothelium: in vivo and in situ studies

Epidermal growth factor (EGF) is excreted in urine in high concentrations and thus incubates with bladder epithelial cells continuously. However, it is not known whether any urothelial cells can bind urinary EGF or respond to it. Using a monoclonal antibody (528) to the binding portion of the human EGF receptor, immunoperoxidase staining demonstrated that the basal cell layer of normal urothelium is richly endowed with cell surface EGF receptors while the superficial cell layer is not. Alternatively, superficial cells of premalignant and malignant urothelium have many surface EGF receptors. Intravesical EGF induces in vivo activity of ornithine decarboxylase and DNA synthesis in rat bladders, with nuclear thymidine incorporation being limited to the basal epithelial cell layer. These studies indicate that urothelium can respond to urinary EGF and that this response parallels the distribution of EGF receptors. These findings combined with the difference in EGF-receptor expression between malignant and normal cells indicate that urinary EGF may play a role in bladder tumor development and/or growth.

Growth kinetics and differentiation in vitro of normal human uroepithelial cells on collagen gel substrates in defined medium

Conditions have been described for the selective growth, serial cultivation, and postconfluent morphological differentiation in vitro of normal adult human uroepithelial cells (HUC) on collagen gel substrates in a serum-free medium without the deliberate addition of undefined components and without a requirement for a polypeptide growth factor. The culture medium used (F12) was the standard Ham's F12 medium (0.3 mM calcium) supplemented with 1 microgram/ml hydrocortisone, 5 micrograms/ml transferrin, 10 micrograms/ml insulin, 0.1 mM nonessential amino acids, 2.0 mM L-glutamine, 2.7 mg/ml D-glucose, 10(-4) M ethanolamine or 10(-4) M phosphoethanolamine, and 5 X 10(-8) M selenium. HUC grown in F12 on Type I collagen gel substrates had a generation time of 33 hours and could be serially passed 3-5 times during log phase of growth (20-25 population doublings) before spontaneously senescing. Transmission electron microscopy showed that cultures of HUC grown entirely in serum-free F12 on collagen gel substrates morphologically differentiate postconfluence to resemble in some respects the stratified uroepithelium in vivo, although neither a basal lamina nor an asymmetric unit membrane develop. The addition of epidermal growth factor (EGF) to the F12 did not improve either the growth rate or the lifespan in vitro of HUC. In contrast, the addition of fetal bovine serum (FBS) to F12 was mitogenic to HUC in a dose-dependent manner in the concentration range 0.01-1.00% (4-400 micrograms/ml protein), but higher concentrations of FBS did not improve growth further. The generation time of HUC in 1% FBS-F12 decreased to 21 hours, and the potential population doublings in vitro increased to 31-36. Small amounts (140 micrograms/ml) of bovine pituitary extract (BPE) were similarly mitogenic to HUC in F12. Altering the calcium concentration in the standard Ham's F12 medium (0.3 mM), however, did not improve the growth of HUC in serum-containing or serum-free medium. Higher calcium concentrations (0.30-0.90 mM) were neither mitogenic nor inhibitory to HUC growth, but resulted in decreasing viability of HUC in growing cultures, suggesting an accelerating rate of cellular differentiation. In contrast HUC in low calcium, serum-free F12 (0.1 mM) failed to stratify and morphologically differentiate even in postconfluent cultures. This failure of HUC to differentiate in low calcium F12 medium did not confer a long-term growth advantage.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

An improved method for the preparation and culture of urothelial cells

Urothelial cells have been prepared by a new method involving collagenase treatment of the lumen of a ureter. These cells have been identified as epithelial and successfully subcultured. In addition, we have observed that growth rate is significantly increased by the inclusion of an extract of bovine hypothalamus in the growth medium. This system for cell preparation and culture should greatly facilitate studies involving urothelial cells.