Establishment of propagable epithelial cell lines from normal adult rat pancreas.

A method for establishing propagable epithelial cell lines from normal adult rat pancreas is described. Morphological studies showed that these cells were derived from duct epithelial cells. These cells grew equally well in media containing fetal bovine (FBS) or horse serum (HS). Preliminary studies suggested that propagable cultured pancreatic ductal cells during early passages retained some capacity to differentiate into acinar-like cells with the formation of granules resembling zymogen, especially when these cells were cultured on mixed ester cellulose membrane. This supports the concept that pancreatic ductal lining cells represent the 'stem' cells on pancreatic epithelial cells. Propagable pancreatic epithelial cells in long-term cultures will be useful in the histogenetic and mechanistic studies of pancreatic carcinogenesis.