| abstract |
A novel bronchial or bronchiolar epithelial cell from normal neonatal rat lung has been isolated, established and maintained for multiple passages in the absence of serum, without undergoing crisis or senescence. By careful manipulation of the nutritional/hormonal microenvironment we have been able to select, from a heterogeneous population, a single epithelial cell type which can maintain highly differentiated features in vitro. This cell type has characteristics of bronchiolar epithelial cells. A clonal line, RL-65, has been selected and observed for more than 2 years in continuous culture. It has been characterized by ultrastructural, morphological and biochemical criteria. |