Isolation and identification of epithelial-like cells in culture by a collagenase-separation technique.

An operational criterion for the identification and isolation of epithelial-like (E) cells, based on their ability to cover and protect a collagen gel from the action of collagenase, has been developed. The E cells isolated by this collagenase-separation technique (CST) exhibited the ultrastructural features, including desmosomes and abundant tonofilaments, that are considered characteristic of this cell type. Unlike confluent cultures of fibroblast-like (F) cells, E cells were not found to have large external transformation-sensitive (LETS) protein on their surface membranes. The CST provides a nondestructive and efficient means of identifying and isolating E cells from mixed populations.