Epithelial cells line the inner surface of the body, such as the gastrointestinal tract, the respiratory tract, and the proximal and distal tubules of the nephron. Epithelial cells may take different shapes depending on their function, including squamous (flat), cuboidal (cube shaped), or columnar (column shaped); they may also be in a single layer or multi-layer in thickness. Primary epithelial cells are isolated directly from human tissue and closely mimic the physiological state of cells in vivo.
Primary epithelial cells are valuable tools for research when you need data relevant to the function of living systems. The cells are ideally suited to support the study in many fields including cancer, inflammation, gene regulation, and cell-matrix interactions, and they provide essential tools for toxicology testing and drug screening and development.
ATCC offers human primary epithelial cells from numerous tissues, including mammary, bronchial, tracheal, small airway, corneal (HCEp), prostate, vaginal, cervical, and renal tissues.
Human Bronchial/Tracheal Epithelial Cells: Improving Functional Studies
Understanding the physiological and cellular processes that occur in the bronchial/tracheal epithelial cells of the human lung in normal and disease conditions is challenging when working with monolayer cultures. Researchers need physiologically relevant models to support future breakthroughs and drug discovery. To that end, ATCC investigated the properties of primary human bronchial/tracheal epithelial cells (HBECs; HBEpCs) and validated them as an in vitro model to improve respiratory studies and move research efforts forward.
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