Effect of matrigel on development of A549 lung epithelial cells

Abstract

Extracellular matrix components are known to influence the growth and differentiation of cultured cells, often causing them to behave more like their in vivo counterparts than cells grown on plastic. To develop an in vitro model in which to study the interaction of pathogenic microorganisms with the lung epithelium, we have undertaken a morphological study of the effects of extracellular matrix components on the human lung alveolar epithelial cell line A549. A549 cells were grown for varying amounts of time on plastic; Costar polycarbonate membrane filter inserts; or on Matrigel coated polycarbonate filter inserts. Cells were fixed for 1 h in 2% glutaraldehyde in 0.1 M cacodylate buffer, post-fixed in 1 % OsO4 for 45 min, dehydrated in ascending ethanol, and embedded in Spurr’s resin.A549 cells grown on a plastic slide formed an even monolayer with cells connected by wellformed junctional complexes or separated by interdigitating microvilli. The cytoplasm showed many polyribosomes, rough endoplasmic reticulum, small golgi complexes, mitochondria, occasional lysosomes and bundles of microfilaments.