Biotransformation Studies Using Rat Proximal Tubule Cells

The proximal tubule is the main target for nephrotoxic substances due to its specific properties, including efficient drug transport and biotransformation potential. The availability of a pure population of proximal tubule cells (PT cells) as a model to study a range of biological, pharmacological, and toxicological parameters is, therefore, of great value. A two-step PT cell–isolation procedure, based on density-gradient centrifugation, is described; this procedure can easily be introduced into each laboratory setting. The procedure routinely yields a highly pure PT cell population, comprising 20–40 × 106 cells, which can be used for preparation of subcellular fractions or brought into primary culture. Keywords: Proximal tubule cell isolation; biotransformation; primary cultures