To study the secretory products and the proliferation of cells of the human respiratory surface epithelium, we established a miniorgan-culture system of bronchial tissue. Biopsies of large airways were grown on agar-coated dishes immersed in a serum-enriched medium. As determined by light and transmission electron microscopy, between 1 and 3 weeks, the organ cultures were covered by a differentiated epithelium consisting of secretory, ciliated, and basal cells. Immunohistochemistry, using antibodies to mucin and lysozyme, and lectin histochemistry revealed both mucous and serous secretory cells in the epithelium. Cell proliferation was studied in situ using antibodies to proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67. Whereas at the time of explantation the proliferation was low (2.5+/-1.7% of the epithelial cells were PCNA-positive, 1.7+/-0.6 were Ki-67-positive), at 24 h of cultivation, 30.4+/-5.1% or 25.2+/-4.9% of the epithelial cells were labeled with antibodies to PCNA or Ki-67. After 7 days, the number of dividing cells was low again. The results show that the organ-culture system of human respiratory surface epithelium produces a differentiated epithelium that is useful in the study of secretory processes, differentiation, and proliferation.
