James A. McAteer
Andrew P. Evan
Dept. of Anatomy, Indiana Univ. School of Medicine, 635 Barnhill Dr., Indianapolis, IN 46202--5120
James E. Lingeman
Methodist Hospital of Indiana, Indianapolis, IN 46202
Sharon P. Andreoli
Indiana Univ. School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN 46202-5120
Renal injury is a documented consequence of SWL and includes direct damage to the tubular epithelium. The factors of SW administration that contribute to cell injury are not fully understood, nor have the mechanisms responsible for cell damage been adequately characterized. Numerous laboratories have used cultured cells to assess SW cytolytic potential. For the most part, these studies have employed fully dissociated cells. To test the idea that cell polarity and cell--cell interactions influence response to SW, the proximal tubulelike line LLC-PK1 was prepared to allow isolation for SW exposure as a polarized monolayer (PM). SW response of PM was compared to dissociated cells. SW exposures were performed with an unmodified HM3 (electrohydraulic). Viability of dissociated cells descrased with increased SW number at 18 kV but was equivalent when kV was varied (14--22 kV). ATP depletion was greater for freshly dissociated cells than for isolated cells from stable suspension culture. PM showed diminished lytic injury (LDH release) compared to dissociated cells. These findings indicate that the nature of an in vitro preparation influences the characteristics and severity of cell injury, and that polarized epithelial monolayers can be used to model the tubular cell response to shock waves. [Work supported by NIH P01 43881.]