Cell suspension cultures and adenoid epithelium: an assessment of the source of material for human ciliary function experiments in vitro.

The aim of this study was to explore the usefulness of two different in vitro models for studying the function of human upper respiratory cilia, i.e. cell suspension cultures of human upper airway epithelium, and ciliated adenoid epithelium. Ciliary beat frequency (CBF) and signal consistency (SC), as parameters of ciliary function, were measured by a computerized photo-electrical method. Measurements after one week revealed that CBF of ciliated aggregates from cell suspension cultures had deteriorated to a mean of 5.8 Hz. In the subsequent period, it remained at this rather low and non-physiological level. SC decreased too, although not as dramatically. These results indicate that ciliated aggregates from cell suspension cultures cannot be used for human ciliary function experiments in vitro. On the other hand, in ciliated adenoid epithelium, CBF remained constant for a period of 5 h, although SC decreased after 30 min. Because of this result and the fact that ciliated adenoid epithelium is easily obtainable, we regard this material as suitable for studying human ciliary beat in vitro.