An Established but Differentiated Kidney Epithelial Cell Line (MDCK)

This chapter discusses Maden Darby canine kidney cell line (MDCK), which is one of the best characterized epithelial cell lines available. Epithelial cells have two distinct surfaces, serosal and mucosal, which have distinct structures and enzyme markers. Studies of kidney function using MDCK are not only feasible, but have the advantage over in vivo studies that the cells in culture form a homogenous population that can be cultured indefinitely. They can be grown readily to sizable populations for biochemical studies and are amenable to genetic analysis using the techniques available to somatic cell geneticists. Several studies are conducted concerning the differentiated processes in MDCK cells related to salt and water transport. Blister formation can be accounted by the transport of salt and water from the mucosal surface of the cells to the serosal surface. A prerequisite for vectorial transport is that the cells have the structural polarity characteristic of transporting epithelia of the kidney. MDCK cells respond to growth regulatory signals present in baby mice, but that the signals are deficient in adult animals.