| TYPES OF CELLS GROWN IN CULTURE
Tissue culture is often a generic term that refers to both organ culture and cell culture and the terms are often used interchangeably. Cell cultures are derived from either primary tissue explants or cell suspensions. Primary cell cultures typically will have a finite life span in culture whereas continuous cell lines are, by definition, abnormal and are often transformed cell lines.
II. WORK AREA AND EQUIPMENT
A. Laminar flow hoods. There are two types of laminar flow hoods, vertical and horizontal, and both types of hoods are available in the Applied Molecular Biology laboratory. The vertical hood, also known as a biology safety cabinet, is best for working with hazardous organisms since the aerosols that are generated in the hood are filtered out before they are released into the surrounding environment. Horizontal hoods are designed such that the air flows directly at the operator hence they are not useful for working with hazardous organisms but are the best protection for your cultures. Both types of hoods have continuous displacement of air that passes through a HEPA (high efficiency particle) filter that removes particulates from the air. In a vertical hood, the filtered air blows down from the top of the cabinet; in a horizontal hood, the filtered air blows out at the operator in a horizontal fashion. NOTE: these are not fume hoods and should not be used for volatile or explosive chemicals. They should also never be used for bacterial or fungal work. The hoods are equipped with a short-wave UV light that can be turned on for a few minutes to sterilize the surfaces of the hood, but be aware that only exposed surfaces will be accessible to the UV light. Do not put your hands or face near the hood when the UV light is on as the short wave light can cause skin and eye damage. The hoods should be turned on about 10-20 minutes before being used. Wipe down all surfaces with ethanol before and after each use. Keep the hood as free of clutter as possible because this will interfere with the laminar flow air pattern.
B. CO2 Incubators. The cells are grown in an atmosphere of 5-10% CO2 because the medium used is buffered with sodium bicarbonate/carbonic acid and the pH must be strictly maintained. Culture flasks should have loosened caps to allow for sufficient gas exchange. Cells should be left out of the incubator for as little time as possible and the incubator doors should not be opened for very long. The humidity must also be maintained for those cells growing in tissue culture dishes so a pan of water is kept filled at all times.
C. Microscopes. Inverted phase contrast microscopes are used for visualizing the cells. Microscopes should be kept covered and the lights turned down when not in use. Before using the microscope or whenever an objective is changed, check that the phase rings are aligned.
D. Preservation. Cells are stored in liquid nitrogen (see Section III- Preservation and storage).
E. Vessels. Anchorage dependent cells require a nontoxic, biologically inert, and optically transparent surface that will allow cells to attach and allow movement for growth. The most convenient vessels are specially-treated polystyrene plastic that are supplied sterile and are disposable. These include petri dishes, multi-well plates, microtiter plates, roller bottles, and screwcap flasks - T-25, T-75, T-150 (cm2 of surface area). Suspension cells are either shaken, stirred, or grown in vessels identical to those used for anchorage-dependent cells.
III. PRESERVATION AND STORAGE. Liquid N2 is used to preserve tissue culture cells, either in the liquid phase (-196EC) or in the vapor phase (-156EC). Freezing can be lethal to cells due to the effects of damage by ice crystals, alterations in the concentration of electrolytes, dehydration, and changes in pH. To minimize the effects of freezing, several precautions are taken. First, a cryoprotective agent which lowers the freezing point, such as glycerol or DMSO, is added. The freezing medium we typically use is 90% serum, 10% DMSO. In addition, it is best to use healthy cells that are growing in log phase and to replace the medium 24 hours before freezing. Also, the cells are slowly cooled from room temperature to -80EC to allow the water to move out of the cells before it freezes. The optimal rate of cooling is 1E-3EC per minute. Some labs have fancy freezing chambers to regulate the freezing at the optimal rate by periodically pulsing in liquid nitrogen. We use a low tech device called a Mr. Frosty. The Mr. Frosty is filled with 200 ml of isopropanol at room temperature and the freezing vials containing the cells are placed in the container and the container is placed in the -80EC freezer. The effect of the isopropanol is to allow the tubes to come to the temperature of the freezer slowly, at about 1EC per minute. Once the container has reached -80EC (about 4 hours or, more conveniently, overnight) the vials are removed from the Mr. Frosty and immediately placed in the liquid nitrogen storage tank. Cells are stored at liquid nitrogen temperatures because the growth of ice crystals is retarded below -130EC. To maximize recovery of the cells when thawing, the cells are warmed very quickly by placing the tube directly from the liquid nitrogen container into a 37EC water bath with moderate shaking. As soon as the last ice crystal is melted, the cells are immediately diluted into prewarmed medium.
IV. MAINTENANCE
Cultures should be examined daily, observing the morphology, the color of the medium and the density of the cells. A tissue culture log should be maintained that is separate from your regular laboratory notebook. The log should contain: the name of the cell line, the medium components and any alterations to the standard medium, the dates on which the cells were split and/or fed, a calculation of the doubling time of the culture (this should be done at least once during the semester), and any observations relative to the morphology, etc.
A. Growth pattern. Cells will initially go through a quiescent or lag phase that depends on the cell type, the seeding density, the media components, and previous handling. The cells will then go into exponential growth where they have the highest metabolic activity. The cells will then enter into stationary phase where the number of cells is constant, this is characteristic of a confluent population (where all growth surfaces are covered).
B. Harvesting. Cells are harvested when the cells have reached a population density which suppresses growth. Ideally, cells are harvested when they are in a semi-confluent state and are still in log phase. Cells that are not passaged and are allowed to grow to a confluent state can sometime lag for a long period of time and some may never recover. It is also essential to keep your cells as happy as possible to maximize the efficiency of transformation. Most cells are passaged (or at least fed) three times a week.
1. Suspension culture. Suspension cultures are fed by dilution into fresh medium.
2. Adherent cultures. Adherent cultures that do not need to be divided can simply be fed by removing the old medium and replacing it with fresh medium. When the cells become semi-confluent, several methods are used to remove the cells from the growing surface so that they can be diluted:
Mechanical - A rubber spatula can be used to physically remove the cells from the growth surface. This method is quick and easy but is also disruptive to the cells and may result in significant cell death. This method is best when harvesting many different samples of cells for preparing extracts, i.e., when viability is not important.
Proteolytic enzymes - Trypsin, collagenase, or pronase, usually in combination with EDTA, causes cells to detach from the growth surface. This method is fast and reliable but can damage the cell surface by digesting exposed cell surface proteins. The proteolysis reaction can be quickly terminated by the addition of complete medium containing serum
EDTA - EDTA alone can also be used to detach cells and seems to be gentler on the cells than trypsin.
The standard procedure for detaching adherent cells is as follows:
1. Visually inspect daily
2. Release cells from monolayer surface
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