Primary cell culture Flashcards
What is primary cell culture?
They are cells derived directly from tissues.
what is the difference between primary cell culture and cell line in terms of life span
Primary cell culture are normal cells; they will divide, differentiate and then die (finite life span)
IN CONTRAST TO
Cell line which is immortal
what conditions are being recreated with primary cell culture techniques
recreating in vivo conditions
what are the KEY differences between primary cell culture and cell line
- where they are derived from?
- identical or non-identical?
- lifespan?
- do they divide/differentiate?
- function: normal or abnormal?
PRIMARY CELL CULTURE:
- cells derived directly from tissues
- interpatient variability
- cells have a finite lifespan
- cells divide and/or differentiate
- cells carry out normal functions
CELL LINES:
- spontaneously derived from tumours or after genetic manipulation
- cells are identical
- cells are theoretically immortal
- cells divide but don’t differentiate
- might have abnormal gene expression, so may not have fully normal function
primary cultures can be NON-HAEMOPOIETIC
OR
HAEMOPOIETIC
list some examples of non-haematopoetic primary cultures
- Liver
- Muscle
- Skin
- Nerves
- Fibroblasts
- Endothelial cells
primary cultures can be NON-HAEMOPOIETIC
OR
HAEMOPOIETIC
list some examples of haematopoetic primary cultures
- Stem, Progenitor cells
- T and B cells
- Monocyte, Macrophages
- Osteoblasts
- Dendritic cells
- Neutrophils, Eosinophils, Basophils, Mast cells
- Erythrocytes
- Megakaryoctyes, Platelets
how do we get cell samples from tissues
3 different ways
1) You put the tissue into culture, and the cells are allowed to migrate out, divide and grow.
2) You can mechanically dissociate them (either by mincing, sieving, pipetting, etc.)
3) You can enzymatically dissociate them (using trypsins, collagenases, proteases, etc.) to break the bonds between the cells and disaggregate them.
haematopoetic cells (eg- t and B cells) cannot be extracted from tissues in the same way as non-haematopoetic cells (eg- liver).
So, how do we get haematopoietic cell samples?
Haematopoietic are already in a suspension (they are already disaggregated) so we can take them directly from the body with no manipulation.
What are some sources of stem cells?
- Bone marrow aspirate
- Umbilical cord blood
- Mobilised peripheral blood
what is a method used to generate stem cells for transplantation
normally people don’t have stem cells in peripheral blood, but if we pump growth factors into people then we can push the stem cells out into the peripheral blood and collect them.
This is a method used to generate stem cells for transplantation.
Describe the areas from which we can extract stem cells in:
- children
- adults
Children:
- bones
- liver
- spleen
Adult:
- ends of long bones (like the femur and humerus)
- skull
- vertebrae
- ribs
- sternum
- pelvis
Describe stem cells properties (4)
- they’re pluripotent - give rise to all lineages
- they self-renew
- they are rare cells
- they are responsible for engraftment
describe progenitor cells properties (4)
- undifferentiated
- not distinguished by morphology
- committed tone or more lineages
- detected in colony forming assays
describe precursor cells properties (3)
- immature but recognisable
- cells starting to differentiate
- few final division before mature cells
2 fates for stem cells
can differentiate
OR
renew themselves
what is the difference between a non-biological assay and a biological assay
non biological assay shows:
- morphology (appearance down a microscope)
-FACS
biological assay shows:
- growth rate
- cell function
what is FACS
flow cytometer used in non biological assays to see whats on the cells inside and outside using fluorescent antibodies
Describe haematopoietic growth factors and their function
They are polypeptide growth factors (or cytokines; the words are interchangeable).
They bind to cell surface transmembrane receptors, and stimulate the growth and survival of progenitors OR inhibit
They are, again, responsible at every stage of haemopoeisis.
They’re also important in keeping cells out of the cell cycle until they need to be brought in.