Kits for 3-Dimensional Histophysiologic Gradient Culture

We will develop a commercial kit so that biologists can readily study tissues under conditions of hgradient culture. Here, as in nature, stratified epithelia adhere to their supporting stroma at a reRenewal of epithelium occurs adjacent to the interface, and all metabolic exchange is by diffusion aculture, a thin, transparent, permeable collagen membrane serves as a "stroma." Cells attach to onethe medium bathes the opposite side, and metabolic exchange for the cells is by diffusion across thethe membrane in contract with the cells is waffled with collagen, which increases the tensile strengthe surface area for cell attachment. The membrane is used in two configurations, as a flat substratchamber closed at both ends. With commercial kits available, a number of basic and clinical biomedicfollow. Processes of tissue remodeling, aging, metaplasia,atrophy, hypertrophy, dysplasia, carcinogeinvasion, and viral propagation can be reconstituted and manipulated. Clinical applications are numediagnosis and treatment,e.g. characterization of cells from a biopsy that will predict the subsequen