What Are Cell Lines Used For?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

, , , ,

Cell lines have revolutionized scientific research and are being used in

vaccine production

, testing drug metabolism and cytotoxicity, antibody production, study of gene function, generation of artificial tissues (e.g., artificial skin) and synthesis of biological compounds e.g., therapeutic proteins.

How are cell lines established?

The simplest way to create a new cell line is

to modify an existing one

, a common strategy when an established line already comes close to meeting the requirements. Cells optimized to grow particular viruses or maximize recombinant protein production often come from such modifications.

What are human cell lines?

Human cell lines are

immortalized cells propagated in vitro from primary explants of human tissue or body fluid

. The use of human cell cultures as a model for more complex biological systems is an integral part of molecular biology, and biomedical research.

What is cell culture used for?

Cell culture is one of the major tools used in cellular and molecular biology, providing excellent model systems for

studying the normal physiology and biochemistry of cells

(e.g., metabolic studies, aging), the effects of drugs and toxic compounds on the cells, and mutagenesis and carcinogenesis.

What is a cell line in biology?

Cell line is a general term that

applies to a defined population of cells that can be maintained in culture for an extended period of time

, retaining stability of certain phenotypes and functions. Cell lines are usually clonal, meaning that the entire population originated from a single common ancestor cell.

How do you use cell lines?

Cell lines have revolutionized scientific research and are being used in

vaccine production

, testing drug metabolism and cytotoxicity, antibody production, study of gene function, generation of artificial tissues (e.g., artificial skin) and synthesis of biological compounds e.g., therapeutic proteins.

What are the different types of cell lines?

  • Frog cell lines.
  • Hamster cell lines.
  • Mouse cell lines.
  • Rat cell lines.
  • Dog cell lines.

Why we use immortalized cell line?

The main advantage of using an immortal cell line for research is

its immortality

; the cells can be grown indefinitely in culture. This simplifies analysis of the biology of cells which may otherwise have a limited lifetime.

How do you immortalize cell lines?

The most well-known immortality gene is

Telomerase (hTERT)

. A ribonucleoprotein, telomerase is able to extend the DNA sequence of telomeres, thus abating the senescence process and enabling the cells to undergo infinite cell divisions.

What are transformed cell lines?

A transformed cell line is

a cell line that acquired infinite growth after insertion of viral gene components into the cell’s genome

. Transformed cell line tend to maintain stable characteristics over time. However, conventional (not transformed) cell lines usually show important phenotypic changes over the passages.

What are primary cells and cell lines?

Primary cell culture is

the culture of cells directly isolated from parental tissue of interest

; whereas cell line is the culture of cells originated from a primary cell culture, which is generally used to expand cell population and prolong life span.

Why are human cell lines so difficult to grow?

Growing or “culturing” stem cells is difficult, largely

because no one knows exactly what nutrients the cells need

. … Researchers worry that contaminants from animals would mean that cells derived from embryonic stem cells could not be transplanted safely into humans. The cells could carry viruses or pathogens.

What is ATCC cell lines?

ATCC has the

world’s largest and most extensive product catalog of human and animal cell lines for research purposes

. The cell biology collection includes more than 4,000 continuous cell lines available by species, tissue/disease types, and signaling pathways.

What is an example of cell culture?

Cultured animal cells are used in the production of viruses and these viruses are used to produce vaccines. For example vaccines for deadly diseases like

polio, rabies, chicken pox

, measles and hepatitis B are produced using animal cell culture.

What are the advantages of cell culture?

Cell culture offers certain advantages

over the environmental and biological variability of other models

. In addition, the use of genetically defined and characterized cell lines can simplify the analysis of experimental data.

What are the steps of cell culture?

  • Thawing. …
  • Cell Seeding. …
  • Cell Observation. …
  • Cell Observation. …
  • Medium Exchange. …
  • Passage. …
  • Cell Observation. …
  • Cell Detachment.
Emily Lee
Author
Emily Lee
Emily Lee is a freelance writer and artist based in New York City. She’s an accomplished writer with a deep passion for the arts, and brings a unique perspective to the world of entertainment. Emily has written about art, entertainment, and pop culture.