Immortalized Cell Lines

Overview of Immortalized Cell Lines

Previous research has demonstrated that the replacement of neurons in the mammalian CNS, lost to trauma or neurodegenerative disease, requires fetal tissues to be utilized. While this approach has been successful in the treatment of Parkinson's disease and has applied to Huntington's disease, and spinal cord injury, the ethical and logistical issues involved in obtaining enough donor tissue of appropriate age and region make the widespread therapeutic use of this transplantation strategy extremely limited. As such, many laboratories have investigated alternative tissues and/or cells for use in transplantation experiments to replace CNS neurons. Immortality is established when a cell loses its cell cycle checkpoint pathways. The overriding of natural cellular senescence takes place when the inactivation of p53/p16/pRb occurs during immortalization protocols. The mechanism controlling cellular senescence and immortalization was described as a two-stage mechanism, according to which, telomerase activity is a key factor in the establishment of immortality.

Immortalized Cell Lines in Neuroscience

Immortalized neural cell lines have provided novel and important insight into fundamental principles of developmental neurobiology. These cell lines maintain the capacity to differentiate into neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes despite continued passage in cell culture, a property that is evidenced both in vitro and in vivo. Many of these cell lines differentiate after engraftment into the CNS with morphological and functional properties indistinguishable from endogenous neurons and glia.

Table.1 Immortalized CNS neural cells lines.

Services at Creative Biolabs

Immortalized cell lines have become popular neuroscience research tools because of all the characteristics we mentioned above. As an industry-leading neuroscience research services provider, Creative Biolabs has been focusing on the application of immortalized cell lines in neuro over years. We are confident in offering quality-assured neuro-based immortalized cell lines custom productions. If you are looking for neuro-based immortalized cell lines custom productions or have any other inquiries about neuroscience research, please don't hesitate to contact us for more information.

• Our services begin with the establishment of immortalized cell lines from primary neural cells or tissues. We can immortalize a wide range of cell types, including neurons, astrocytes, microglia, and oligodendrocytes, among others.
• Once the cell lines have been established, we offer a range of services to support their use in neuroscience research. This includes cell line characterization, including verification of cell identity, purity, and stability. We also provide cell line expansion and cryopreservation services to ensure that researchers have a consistent, reliable source of cells for their experiments.
• In addition to our standard services, we also offer custom Immortalized Cell Lines Services to meet the specific needs of our clients. This includes the creation of cell lines from specific animal models or genetic backgrounds, as well as the modification of existing cell lines to include specific genetic mutations or gene knockouts.

Our services are designed to provide researchers with access to high-quality, reliable cell lines that can be used for a wide range of neuroscience applications. We aim to accelerate research and drug discovery in neurodegenerative diseases by rendering this service and related services, including but not limited to:

Published Data

Neruja Loganathan et al. reported that mHypoA-Ast1 cells, which represent a functional astrocyte lineage in the adult mouse brain, can be used to study the complex interactions of hypothalamic cells as well as the dysregulation that may occur in disease states, providing an important tool for neuroendocrine research.

They immortalized astrocytes from the hypothalamus of adult male CD-1 mice using SV40 T antigen to generate and characterize the mHypoA-Ast1 cell line. This cell line expresses astrocyte markers, responds to the inflammatory molecule lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and the fatty acid palmitate, and alters neuronal responses to palmitate.

This cell model can be used as a support cell for hypothalamic neuronal cell culture or for the study of hypothalamic-specific astrocyte function and disease.

Fig. 1 qRT-PCR analysis and immunocytochemistry of mHypoA-Ast1.¹

Application of Immortalized Cell Lines in Neuroscience

Chronic neuropathic pain

Chronic neuropathic pain is a severe complication for much spinal cord injury (SCI) patients and the descending serotonergic system has been implicated in modulating nociceptive input. Using a model of chronic neuropathic pain in which the sciatic nerve is unilaterally constricted. Eaton and co-workers transplanted RN46A cells that had been genetically engineered to secrete BDNF into the intrathecal space of the lumbar spinal cord. BDNF expression in RN46A cells potentiates both their survival and serotonergic phenotype in vivo. Following these grafts, there was a reduction in tactile and cold allodynia as well as thermal hyperalgesia. The effects of these grafts could be blocked with the serotonergic antagonist methysergide, demonstrating that the effects were mediated by the released serotonin.

CNS repair models

Immortalized neural precursor cell lines have proven effective in other models of CNS repair. The shiverer mouse suffers from widespread CNS demyelination because of dysfunctional oligodendrocytes. The meander tail mouse is characterized by a loss of cerebellar granule neurons. Synder and colleagues have examined the potential of engrafted C17.2 cells to repair these respective deficits. Following engraftment of C17.2 cells into the postnatal day 1 shiverer mouse ventricle, these cells myelinated roughly 50% of CNS axons, an extent of myelination that decreased tremor and restored near-normal motor function.

FAQs

Q: Can your immortalized cell lines be used for high-throughput screening assays?

A: Yes, our immortalized cell lines are well-suited for high-throughput screening (HTS) assays. They offer the consistency and reproducibility necessary for such applications. We ensure that our cell lines exhibit stable growth characteristics and respond predictably to various stimuli, making them ideal candidates for drug screening, toxicity testing, and other high-throughput applications in neuroscience research.

Q: What customization options are available for your immortalized cell lines?

A: We offer several customization options to meet specific research requirements. This includes genetic modifications such as gene knock-in/knock-out, overexpression, or CRISPR/Cas9 editing. Additionally, we can adapt cell lines to express specific reporters or markers and modify culture conditions to suit unique experimental needs. Our team works closely with researchers to develop tailored solutions for their projects.

Q: What is the turnaround time for custom immortalized cell line development?

A: The turnaround time for custom immortalized cell line development varies depending on the complexity of the modifications required. Typically, the process can take anywhere from a few weeks to several months. We provide a detailed timeline and regular updates throughout the development process to keep researchers informed. Our goal is to deliver high-quality, customized cell lines efficiently to meet your research timelines.

Q: What are the pricing and ordering options for your immortalized cell lines?

A: Pricing for our immortalized cell lines depends on the specific cell line and any customizations required. We offer competitive pricing and bulk order discounts. Detailed pricing information and ordering options can be obtained by contacting our sales team or visiting our website. We strive to provide flexible purchasing options to accommodate the budgetary needs of different research projects.

Scientific Resources

Summary of Commonly Used Neuronal Cell Lines

Reference

1. Loganathan, Neruja, Calvin V. Lieu, and Denise D. Belsham. "Immortalization and Characterization of GFAP-expressing Glial Cells from the Adult Mouse Hypothalamus, Cortex, and Brain Stem." Neuroscience 551 (2024): 43-54.

For Research Use Only. Not For Clinical Use.