Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Molecular Biology Reports https://doi.org/10.1007/s11033-020-05977-4 REVIEW Renal proximal tubular epithelial cells: review of isolation, characterization, and culturing techniques Matic Mihevc 1  · Tadej Petreski 1,2  · Uroš Maver 2,3  · Sebastjan Bevc 1,3 Received: 6 August 2020 / Accepted: 3 November 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020 Abstract The kidney is a complex organ, comprised primarily of glomerular, tubular, mesangial, and endothelial cells, and podocytes. The fact that renal cells are terminally diferentiated at 34 weeks of gestation is the main obstacle in regeneration and treat- ment of acute kidney injury or chronic kidney disease. Furthermore, the number of chronic kidney disease patients is ever increasing and with it the medical community should aim to improve existing and develop new methods of renal replacement therapy. On the other hand, as polypharmacy is on the rise, thought should be given into developing new ways of testing drug safety. A possible way to tackle these issues is with isolation and culture of renal cells. Several protocols are currently described to isolate the desired cells, of which the most isolated are the proximal tubular epithelial cells. They play a major role in water homeostasis, acid–base control, reabsorption of compounds, and secretion of xenobiotics and endogenous metabolites. When exposed to ischemic, toxic, septic, or obstructive conditions their death results in what we clinically perceive as acute kidney injury. Additionally, due to renal cells’ limited regenerative potential, the profbrotic environment inevitably leads to chronic kidney disease. In this review we will focus on human proximal tubular epithelial cells. We will cover human kidney culture models, cell sources, isolation, culture, immortalization, and characterization subdivided into morphological, phenotypical, and functional characterization. Keywords Proximal renal tubule · Acute kidney injury · Chronic kidney disease · Cell morphology · Cell isolation · Cultured cells · Lab-on-a-chip device · Stem cells · Pharmacokinetics Abbreviations AAP Alanine aminopeptidase ABC ATP-binding cassette ACE Angiotensin-converting enzyme AEC Adenylate energy charge AKI Acute kidney injury Albumin-FITC Albumin-fuorescein isothiocyanate conjugate protein bovine ALP Alkaline phosphatase AQP Aquaporin ASO Antisense oligonucleotide ATP Adenosine triphosphate ADP Adenosine diphosphate AMP Adenosine monophosphate AVP Arginine vasopressin BAK Bioartifcial kidney BCRP Breast cancer resistance protein CD Cluster of diferentiation ciPTEC Conditionally immortalized proximal tubular epithelial cells ciPTEC-T Conditionally immortalized proximal tubular epithelial cells isolated from tissue * Uroš Maver uros.maver@um.si * Sebastjan Bevc sebastjan.bevc@ukc-mb.si; sebastjan.bevc@um.si Matic Mihevc matic.mihevc@gmail.com Tadej Petreski tadej.petreski@gmail.com 1 Department of Nephrology, Clinic for Internal Medicine, University Medical Centre Maribor, Ljubljanska ulica 5, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia 2 Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Biomedical Sciences, University of Maribor, Taborska ulica 8, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia 3 Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Maribor, Taborska ulica 8, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia