Purification and characterization of mammary myoepithelial and secretory cells from the lactating rat.

Myoepithelial and secretory cells from the mammary gland of the lactating rat have been isolated, purified, and characterized. Mammary tissue was dissociated with collagenase into basket-like networks of myoepithelial cells and single secretory cells. Because of their larger size, the myoepithelial cell networks could be separated from other mammary and blood cells by differential centrifugation. Isolated secretory cells were purified by isopycnic centrifugation in 25% bovine serum albumin. The purified myoepithelial and secretory cells were viable, as shown by the incorporation of 32P into distinct macromolecules that were separable by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Both myoepithelial and secretory cells retained their characteristic morphology after isolation and purification, as shown by light, transmission, and scanning electron microscopies. The isolated myoepithelial cells were unique and, thus, distinguishable from other mammary cells in a number of respects; they 1) contracted in response to the addition of oxytocin, 2) bound [3H]oxytocin specifically, 3) accounted for the content of alkaline phosphatase and [Na+ + K+]ATPase in mammary tissue, and 4) reacted specifically with antiserum prepared against purified myoepithelial cells. The purified secretory cells were unique in possessing glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity. The different cell markers not only gave independent estimates of the purity of the cell fractions, but they also may be helpful in identifying mammary cells in stages of differentiation and neoplastic transformation.