ESTABLISHMENT OF PRIMARY EPITHELIAL-CELL CULTURE FROM ELUTRIATED RAT GASTRIC-MUCOSAL CELLS

Proliferating cells in the gastric mucosal epithelium were successfull y enriched by counterflow elutriation in a medium-sized cell fraction. When inoculated on culture plates coated with E-C-L cell attachment m atrix, these cells differentiated into mucus-producing cells after rea ching confluence. Northern blot analysis did not detect any transcript of the proton pump, histidine decarboxylase, somatostatin, or pepsino gen I, indicating the absence of parietal, ECL, D, and chief cells in the confluent monolayer. These mucus-producing cell monolayers that re spond to various growth factors may be a suitable model with which to investigate the function of gastric mucus cells in vitro.