Epithelial monolayer culture system for real‐time single‐cell analyses

Many epithelial cells form polarized monolayers under in vivo and in vitro conditions. Typically, epithelial cells are cultured for differentiation on insert systems where cells are plated on a porous filter membrane. Although the cultured monolayers have been a standard system to study epithelial physiology, there are some limits: The epithelial cells growing inside the commercial inserts are not optimal to visualize directly through lenses on inverted microscopes. The cell images are optically distorted and background fluorescence is bright due to the filter membrane positioned between the cells and the lens. In addition, the cells are not easily accessible by electrodes due to the presence of tall side walls. Here, we present the design, fabrication, and practical applications of an improved system for analysis of polarized epithelial monolayers. This new system allows (1) direct imaging of cells without an interfering filter membrane, (2) electrophysiological measurements, and (3) detection of apical secretion with minimal dilution. Therefore, our culture method is optimized to study differentiated epithelial cells at the single‐cell and subcellular levels, and can be extended to other cell types with minor modifications.