Primary culture of epithelial cells derived from the rat ventral prostate: formation of three-dimensional acinus-like structure in collagen gel.
Rat ventral prostate epithelial cells were cultured in collagen gel after collagenase digestion. The primary cultures were mainly composed of single and spherical cells. After 10 days incubation in growth medium containing insulin, transferrin, and cholera toxin, there was a 3.8-fold increase in cell numbers, aggregates of which formed three-dimensional acinus-like structures. These structures consisted of one layer of cells surrounding the lumen. The cells were joined together with a junctional complex and had microvilli on the luminal surface and secretory vacuoles in the cytoplasm facing the lumen. The ultrastructural features of the cells were not altered by growth medium containing steroids. This culture system may prove to be very useful in elucidating proliferation, organization, and differentiation of prostatic epithelial cells in relation to the extracellular matrix and stromal cells.
D000818:Animals; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D003094:Collagen; D046508:Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods; D005782:Gels; D008297:Male; D008854:Microscopy, Electron; D011467:Prostate / Q000166:cytology*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
D005782:Gels; D003094:Collagen