Colloidal silica-coated tissue culture dishes for primary cell cultures: Growth of rabbit renal proximal tubule cells

The use of colloidal silica as a substratum for primary cultures of differe ntiated cells has significant advantages over classic tissue culture polyst yrene. In this report, the growth and the level of expression of differenti ated function of primary rabbit renal proximal tubule (RPT) cell cultures o n colloidal silica is examined, using hormonally defined serum-free medium. Primary RPT cells grew to confluence more rapidly on colloidal silica than on tissue culture polystyrene (TC+). The morphology of primary RPT cells o n colloidal silica were found by means of transmission electron microscopy to possess a polarized morphology with a brush border, and differentiated m arkers were retained even after passaging, including the Na+/glucose cotran sport system and Glut 7.