Cellular differentiation in three-dimensional lung cell cultures.

Introduction: Aspects of human biology that are not sufficiently addressed by current cell culture models are cellular differentiation and three-dimensional (3-D) structural organization. A model that more closely associates the presence and biology of organelles to molecular expressions relevant to these organelles may provide evidence of cellular differentiation and the beginning steps in the construction of a 3-D architecture. The development of a new model — 3-D cell cultures — may ultimately provide a better understanding of lung biology and pathobiology. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to develop both traditional monolayer and 3-D cell cultures of a known and well documented normal lung cell line and then to determine similarities and differences between these cultures in terms of differentiation and molecular marker expression. Methods: An immortalized cell line was grown as a traditional monolayer (ML) in culture flasks and as 3-D cultures in rotating walled vessels and incubated under iden...