PMC:13917 / 24658-26152 JSONTXT

{"target":"https://pubannotation.org/docs/sourcedb/PMC/sourceid/13917","sourcedb":"PMC","sourceid":"13917","source_url":"http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/13917","text":"Induction of differentiation\nAddition of lactogenic hormones to confluent cultures of KIM-2 cells resulted in a morphological change after approximately 2 days. Domes appeared in the confluent monolayer. These were substantial in size, usually containing upwards of 50 cells, and staining of these differentiated cultures with antibodies to α-actin showed the presence of myoepithelial cells around the domes (Fig. c and d). This association of luminal and myoepithelial cells is reminiscent of alveolar structures. Immunocytochemistry with antibodies to the cell adhesion molecule E-cadherin (data not shown) and the junction protein zonula occluden-1 (Fig. 7e and f), which is found at the apical and lateral plasma membrane boundaries between epithelial cells, showed that tight junctions are formed between the cells. Confluent undifferentiated monolayers of KIM-2 cells also form junctions as shown by the E-cadherin staining pattern (Fig. 7a and b). Using time lapse video microscopy, these domes were observed to pulsate, suggesting that transepithelial fluid transport is taking place into an expanding lumen and confirming that tight junctions have been formed ().\nThe differentiation of KIM-2 cells was further investigated using electron microscopy, which revealed the presence of milk protein and lipid droplets within the KIM-2 cells. Differentiated cells are polarized, microvilli being present on the apical surface (Fig. 8a). We also observed desmosomes between cells (Fig. 8b).","divisions":[{"label":"Title","span":{"begin":0,"end":28}}],"tracks":[]}