Untitled Deck Flashcards
(11 cards)
What is cell culture?
Cell culture refers to the removal of cells from an animal or plant and their subsequent growth in a favorable artificial environment.
How are cells removed for culture?
Cells may be removed from the tissue directly and disaggregated by enzymatic or mechanical means before cultivation, or derived from an established cell line or cell strain.
What is primary culture?
Primary culture refers to the stage of the culture after the cells are isolated from the tissue and proliferated until they reach confluence.
What happens after primary culture reaches confluence?
The cells have to be subcultured by transferring them to a new vessel with fresh growth medium.
What is a cell line?
After the first subculture, the primary culture becomes known as a cell line or subclone.
What is the lifespan of cell lines derived from primary cultures?
Cell lines have a limited life span and are finite; as they are passaged, cells with the highest growth capacity predominate.
What is a cell strain?
If a subpopulation of a cell line is positively selected, this cell line becomes a cell strain, often acquiring additional genetic changes.
What is senescence in normal cells?
Normal cells usually divide only a limited number of times before losing their ability to proliferate, a genetically determined event known as senescence.
What are finite cell lines?
Finite cell lines are those that lose their ability to proliferate after a certain number of divisions.
What is transformation in cell lines?
Some cell lines become immortal through transformation, which can occur spontaneously or be chemically or virally induced.
What is a continuous cell line?
When a finite cell line undergoes transformation and acquires the ability to divide indefinitely, it becomes a continuous cell line.
