Preliminary characterization of epithelial root sheath cells in vitro.

Murine root sheath cells from CD-1 mice were isolated and propagated in culture in both monolayer and tridimensional system using basement membrane components as substrata. Cells were grown for a period of seven days. The epithelial cells cultured in monolayer exhibited the typical cobblestone-like feature and also were cytokeratin positive when they were immunostained with the specific antibody. The histological analysis of the cells cultured in basement membrane components revealed differentiated behavior of the cells, and they organized in a round structure with a center of material probably representing keratin. Also the cells differentiated and organized into a squamous stratified epithelia, with a basal, intermedium and superficial layers. The preliminary data obtained with this model could be useful as a new approach to study root formation in the murine periodontum.