Human Renal Epithelial Cells & Growth Media

These products are available in the US, Canada, and select European countries.

Human Primary Renal Epithelial Cell Culture System

The epithelium is at the interface between the body of an organism and the external environment, covering all exterior surfaces and interior lumina. The diverse functions of epithelial cells include protection, absorption, transcellular transport, secretion, and sensation.

PromoCell^® Renal Epithelial Cells are isolated from normal adult human tissues of the kidneys including whole kidney and renal cortex. Shortly after isolation, all human epithelial cells are cryopreserved at passage 2 (P2) using a proprietary serum-free freezing medium, Cryo-SFM. After thawing, each cryovial contains at least 500,000 viable cells. Human renal epithelial cells are also available as proliferating cell cultures generated from cryopreserved cells that have been thawed and cultured for three days in our labs.

• Cultivation Protocol for Human Renal Epithelial Cells

The Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 is a low-serum medium containing epinephrine and select growth factors. Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 is optimized for growing primary human cells, but can also be used for the culture of porcine and mouse renal epithelial cells.  The Renal Epithelial Cell Medium 2 is available in two formats: Medium (ready-to-use) and Medium Kit. The Medium (ready-to-use) option consists of a 500 mL bottle of Basal Medium and one vial of SupplementMix. The Medium Kit consists of a 500 mL bottle of Basal Medium and the SupplementPack (a set of individual vials with pre-measured supplements) allowing the user full control over the media formulation.  Adding the SupplementMix or the SupplementPack to the Basal Medium constitutes the complete Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium. The Basal Medium (with or without phenol red), SupplementMix, and SupplementPack are all available for individual purchase.

Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 is recommended for

• Human Renal Epithelial Cells (HREpC)
• Human Renal Cortical Epithelial Cells (HRCEpC)

Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 Supplementation Details

The Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 is a low-serum medium that contains all the growth factors and supplements necessary for optimized growth of human renal epithelial cells, including epinephrine (see the table below for supplemented medium details). Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 does not contain antibiotics or antimycotics and is formulated for use in an incubator with an atmosphere of 5% CO₂.

Table 1. Final Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 supplement concentrations (after addition)

Component	Final Concentration
Fetal Calf Serum	0.05 mL / mL
Epidermal Growth Factor (recombinant human)	10 ng / mL
Insulin (recombinant human)	5 μg / mL
Epinephrine	0.5 μg / mL
Hydrocortisone	36 ng / mL
Transferrin (recombinant human)	5 μg / mL
Triiodo-L-thyronine	4 pg / mL

Preparing Supplemented Media for Renal Epithelial Cells

• Thaw the Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2 SupplementMix or SupplementPack at 15 – 25 °C.
• Aseptically mix the supplement solutions by carefully pipetting up and down.
• Transfer the entire contents of each supplement to the Renal Epithelial Cell Basal Medium.
• Close the bottle and swirl gently until a homogeneous mixture is achieved.

Storage and Stability of Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium 2

• Upon arrival, immediately store the Renal Epithelial Cell Basal Medium at 4 – 8 °C in the dark; do not freeze. Store the Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium SupplementMix or SupplementPack at -20 °C.
• When stored as directed, the products are stable until the expiration date stated on the label.
• Once supplements are added to the Renal Epithelial Cell Basal Medium, the shelf life of the complete medium is six weeks at 4 – 8 °C. Do not freeze the complete medium.
• For use, aliquot just the volume of media required for single use and prewarm, maintaining the stock medium refrigerated at 4 – 8 °C.
• After delivery, cryopreserved cells should be stored in liquid nitrogen or seeded directly.
• Proliferating cells must be processed immediately.

Primary Human Renal Epithelial Cell Culture System Quality Control

Primary Renal Epithelial Cells Quality Control

The following rigorous quality control tests are performed for each lot of Renal Epithelial Cells:

• Cell morphology, adherence rate, and cell viability testing
• Flow cytometric analyses for the cell-type-specific marker cytokeratin
• Growth performance testing through multiple passages up to 15 population doublings (PD) under culture conditions without antibiotics and antimycotics
• Testing for the absence of HIV-1, HIV-2, HBV, HCV, HTLV-1, HTLV-2 and microbial contaminants (fungi, bacteria, and mycoplasma)
• A detailed certificate of analysis (CoA) is available for download.

Table 2. Primary Renal Epithelial Cell Specifications

Product	Plating Density	Passage after Thawing	Marker	Population Doublings
Human Renal Epithelial Cells (HREpC)	10,000 - 15,000 cells per cm²	P2	Cytokeratin+	> 15
Human Renal Cortical Epithelial Cells (HRCEpC)	10,000 - 15,000 cells per cm²	P2	Cytokeratin+	> 15

Renal Epithelial Cell Growth Medium Quality Control

All lots of PromoCell^® Renal Epithelial Cell Media are subjected to comprehensive quality control tests using primary human renal epithelial cells. Each lot is checked for growth-promoting activity, adherence rate, and typical morphology of the tested renal epithelial cells. Approved in-house lots of media are used as a reference. In addition, every lot of media is tested for the absence of microbial contaminants (fungi, bacteria, mycoplasma).

Intended Use of Renal Epithelial Cell Products

These products are for in vitro use only and not for diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. For safety precautions please see appropriate MSDS.

Note:  Due to their low serum content or the absence of serum, PromoCell^® media are not suitable for trypsin neutralization (when subculturing the cells, for example).  Instead, we recommend using our DetachKit (C-41200, C-41210, C-41220), which contains HEPES BSS, Trypsin/EDTA and Trypsin Neutralizing Solution.