Madin-Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cells grown in 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional type I collagen culture.

In order to gain insight into epithelial morphogenesis and the influence of culture geometry on gene expression patterns, Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) epithelial cells where grown in 2-dimensional (2D) culture or 3-dimensional (3D) culture . MDCK cells cultured in 2D were plated atop a pre-solidified type I collagen gel. Cells cultured under these conditions grew as flat monolayer sheets. In 3D culture, cells are embedded within type I collagen gel. Cells grown under these conditions form large spherical cysts with hollow central lumens. We anticipate, therefore, that these results provide insight into the mechanisms that regulate epithelial cystogenesis. Cells grown in the 2D or 3D geometries were collected from digested type I collagen gels on day 8. The 2D MDCK cells were treated as the control condition and there gene expression patterns were compared to those of 3D grown cells, which served as the experimental condition.