CREATININE TRANSPORT THROUGH HUMAN PROXIMAL TUBULE CELL MONOLAYERS ADHERENT TO BIOFUNCTIONALIZED PES MEMBRANES

Aim: Membranes for bioartificial kidney (BAK) have to be an ideal scaffold for cell adhesion, proliferation and function expression. Poor renal cells bio-compatibility of polymer membranes calls for the need of their bio-functionalization. We investigated the optimization of collagen IV (cIV)-based double coating on polyethersulfone membranes (PESM) to favor functional monolayer formation of a conditionally immortalized proximal tubule epithelial cell line (ciPTEC). Methods: PESM were coated with 3,4-Dihydroxy-L-phenylalanine (L-DOPA) and cIV. Morphological and transport properties changes of differently coated PESM were investigated. CiPTECs monolayer formation on coated membranes was examined by immunocytochemical stain of tight junction protein ZO-1. Transepithelial transport of 14C-creatinine (Papp) was measured by liquid scintillation. Results: Double coated PESM presented progressively more stable cIV adhesion with increasing dissolution and exposure time to L-DOPA. Both ZO-1 expression and creatinine Papp through ciPTEC monolayers was higher for cells cultured on double coated PESM than standard Transwells(R). Transport inhibitors addition significantly reduced the creatinine Papp for all conditions. Conclusions: Optimal performance of CiPTECs on double coated PESM makes this a promising strategy for the development of BAK with functional cell monolayers.