Innovative approaches for the study of cultured renal epithelia

Significant advances in renal transport physiology have traditionally depended on the development of novel experimental methods. Increasingly, attention is being given to the application of cell culture technology to renal growth and differentiation, transport, pharmacology and endocrinology. Cell culture not only offers a new technical approach to long-standing problems but, more importantly, provides a tool for expanding renal physiology beyond traditional conceptual boundaries. Renal physiology, placed in the theoretical and technical framework of cell and molecular biology acquires a plethora of novel directions and insights exemplified by the transformation of classical neurophysiology into contemporary molecular neurobiology. For renal cell culture to have this impact, long-term functional cell lines derived from identified nephron segments must be available. Innovative cell culture methods and concepts will be required for these objectives to be achieved.