Isolation and maintenance of differentiated exocrine gland acinar cells in vitro

Methods have been developed for isolating and maintaining differentiated rat exorbital lacrimal, parotid, and pancreatic acinar cells for up to 1 month in culture. The dissociated cells retained their differentiated morphology when cultured as suspension cultures at 35 degrees C with the appropriate secretagogue (exorbital lacrimal, 10(-6) M carbamyl choline; pancreas, 10(-5) M carbamyl choline; parotid, 10(-6) M isoproterenol). Under these conditions the cells remained viable and differentiated for up to 4 weeks in culture and continued to incorporate 3H-leucine at rates similar to those of freshly isolated cells. If secretagogue was omitted from the medium, the cells rapidly degenerated. These results indicate that differentiated exocrine gland acinar cells may be maintained in vitro and utilized as a model system for the study of secretory processes.