Glycoprotein synthesis by an established cell line from hamster tracheal epithelium

A cloned cell line, HTE-B, derived from hamster tracheal epithelium, synthesizes and secretes labeled glycoproteins in tissue culture. The glycopeptides derived from these glycoproteins by papain treatment are chromatographically and electrophoretically indistinguishable from those derived from glycoproteins secreted by cultured tracheal explants from rats or humans. The availability of this cell line should allow us to greatly increase our understanding of the mechanisms of glycoprotein synthesis and secretion by respiratory epithelial cells, and the underlying control mechanisms governing these processes.