What is Mammalian Cell Culture and Why is It Important in Biotechnology?

What is mammalian cell culture​? A question that attracts students of biosciences as it seems to be an unsolved mystery. This blog will help you to understand the concept of Mammalian Cell Culture in the most appropriate way.

INTRODUCTION:

Mammals consists of a vast variety of cells that are specialized for their function. Some of them provides support and strength while others are involved in biochemical processes such a digestion and absorption etc.

After an extensive and prolonged research scientists discovered that if the right circumstances were met and the media was changed as per need, somatic cells could live in vitro indefinitely.

This discovery led the foundation of mammalian cell culture. Mammalian cell culture refers to the in-vitro growth and development of mammalian cells under favorable conditions. The technique was first developed when scientists were studying the cellular differentiation during the embryo development.

In simple words, growing a mammalian cell in a specially designed environment in-vitro is referred as mammalian cell culture. Cell culture techniques were firstly developed to study cellular structures and functions but later on these techniques led the foundation of modern day treatments of acute to chronic diseases.  

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NATURE AND MORPHOLOGY:

While studying mammalian cell culture, it must be remembered that mammalian cell cultures are morphologically quite different from their original tissues and cells.

Cellular growth for mammals is carried out by the process of mitosis and meiosis, as most mammals gives birth to their offspring by a process called viviparity. So naturally, most of the mammalian offspring develop inside mother’s womb.

 As the artificial environment can have numerous fluctuations so it must be kept in mind that there is a long and tedious way to go in order to culture a mammalian cell. Therefore, a concept for the production of transformed mammalian cell lines was developed. The first transformed cell line ever developed for humans were HeLa cells derived from cervical carcinoma.

The production of interferon in a human lymphoblastoid line, monoclonal antibody technology, production of proteins and various vaccines is a result of mammalian cell culture techniques used over a period of time.

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TYPES OF MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURES:

Different mammalian cell culture techniques are widely used over the period of time for the production of mammalian cell cultures. Basic techniques of mammalian cell culture in vitro were developed to provide cells with maximum nutrients to have an effective growth of mammalian cell line.

There are two main types of mammalian cell cultures that are widely used:

1. Adherent cultures: Adherent mammalian cell cultures deals with the cells that grows by being attached to a substrate. The substrate is typically made out of a plastic or glass surface that is coated with extracellular matrix proteins.
2. Suspension cultures: Suspension mammalian cell cultures deals with the cells that grow freely suspended in the culture media. Suspension cultures are commonly used for cells that do not require surface attachment for proliferation.

KEY COMPONENTS OF MAMMALIAN CELL CULTURE:

While dealing with mammalian cell culture in vitro, it must be kept in mind that mammalian cell lines are highly sensitive. Therefore, basic techniques in mammalian cell tissue culture requires a full fledge protocol.

Mammalian cell culture laboratory must be well equipped and ensure these protocols that are listed below.

1. Culture Medium: Culture medium is necessary for cell viability. Culture medium prepared for mammalian cell contains glucose, amino acids, vitamins, and vital salts. It may also contain growth stimulants, hormones, and antibiotics to avoid contamination.The composition of Culture medium must be carefully chosen based on the type of cell that you are working upon and the desired result that you need.
2.  Controlled Environment: Mammalian cells are extremely sensitive; hence a controlled environment is required. Mammalian cells require an incubator that maintains physiological temperature and adequate quantities of carbon dioxide to maintain pH balance. Some specialised cultures also require regulation of oxygen content.
3. Sterility: while dealing with mammalian cell culture, it must be kept into consideration that mammalian cells are particularly sensitive to contamination. Contamination can be from bacteria, fungus, and mycoplasma, hence maintaining a sterile environment is crucial while culturing mammalian cell line. Thus it requires the use of specialized equipment such as laminar flow hoods, sterile culture ware, and antibiotics in the culture media.
4.  Passaging: Mammalian cells have limited room and nutrients in culture the culture medium that is initially provided for growth. This results in necessitating periodic "passaging" in which cells are sub-cultured into fresh media to minimize over-confluence and promote healthy growth of mammalian cell line within the cultures.

 Mammalian cell cultures are used for various purposes including Biopharmaceuticals Production, Gene Therapy and Recombinant DNA Technology, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, Cancer Research, Toxicology and Drug Testing. This clearly depicts the great potential of Mammalian cell culture in the future of science.

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