Isolation, culture, characterization and use of human renal tubular epithelial cells.

Tubulointerstitial alterations are a hallmark of most renal diseases. In vitro culture of different cell types of the tubulointerstitial compartment have been instrumental in studying their respective contributions to the inflammatory and fibrotic process. The present paper provides an overview of the isolation, culture and characterization of tubular epithelial cells, with a main emphasis on cells from human origin.