It has been an interest of our lab to develop a mammary epethelial cell culture system that faithfully duplicates the in vivo condition of the lactating gland. Since the introduction of collagen as a matrix on which cells are cultivated other E.C.M. type matrices have been made available and are used in many cell culture techniques. We have previously demonstrated that cells cultured on collagen and Matrigel do not differentiate as they do in vivo. It seems that these cultures often produce cells that show a disruption in the secretory process. The appearance of large ribosomal studded vesicles, that specifically label with antibody to casein, suggest an interruption of both protein maturation and secretion at the E.R. to golgi transition. In this report we have examined cultures on collagen and Matrigel at relative high and low seeding densities and compared them to cells from the in vivo condition.
