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Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Culturing of Human Nasal Epithelial Cells at the Air Liquid Interface
Published on: October 8, 2013
Enhanced sodium absorption in middle ear epithelial cells cultured at air-liquid interface
1Laboratoire d'Otologie Expérimentale, UMR 7060, Faculté Lariboisière-St-Louis, Assistance Publique des Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris VII, Paris, France.
Conclusion:
As we demonstrated previously that transcription of alpha-ENaC was correlated with oxygen tension in the culture medium, this study suggests that the increase in alpha-ENaC expression observed under ALI conditions may result from greater oxygenation of ME cells.
Objective:
The physiology of the middle ear (ME) is primarily concerned with keeping the cavities fluid-free, to allow transmission of sound vibrations from the eardrum to the inner ear. ME epithelial cells are thought to play a key role in this process as they actively absorb sodium and water in order to clear any excess fluid present in the cavities.
Material And Methods:
As an air-liquid interface (ALI) model has been shown to improve differentiation and enhance sodium absorption in other respiratory epithelia, we established an ALI model for ME cells.
Results:
ME cells cultured under ALI conditions exhibited a fourfold increase in sodium absorption, which was not related to either a metabolic effect or to enhanced morphological differentiation, but instead to an increase in expression of the alpha-subunit of the epithelial sodium channel (alpha-ENaC).
