Objective: To establish a culture model of human nasal respiratory epithelial cells and a method of measuring human nasal ciliary motility.
Method: The human nasal respiratory epithelial cells were detached with collagenase and cultured in serum free medium supplemented with hormones and growth factors, the ciliary beat frequency was measured by videomicroscopy.
Result: After inoculation, cells cultured with this method adhered in 24 hours, confluented in 6-8 days and lived for 16 days. During that time ciliary beating was active, both acidic and neutral mucoitin granules were rich in goblet cells and all chromosome of 23 pairs were normal, the ciliary beat frequency in 29 subjects' nasal mucosa was (411 +/- 24) beats/min (mean +/- s).
Conclusion: A culture model of human nasal respiratory epithelial cells in serum free medium supplemented with hormones and growth factors and a method of measuring human nasal ciliary motility was successfully established.