AcceGen

Tumor cell lines (or cancer cell lines) are derived from the cancerous growths on an organ in a human or animal subject. These cell lines have undergone laboratory modifications that render them immortalized—they are capable of proliferating indefinitely in an  in vitro  environment. For that reason, tumor cell lines have become invaluable tools in the field of cancer research.   History of Human Cancer Cell Lines In the first half of the 20th century, various experiments demonstrated that animal cell lines could be maintained in an  in vitro  environment. The first human cell line was established in 1951, from cervical carcinoma cells taken from 30-year-old Henrietta Lacks. The  HeLa cell line , as it’s called, is regarded as a major milestone in medical history, being not only the first immortalized cell line but also an important aid in the development of the polio vaccine.     In 1990, the  U.S. National Cancer Institute  officially ...

Cell therapy  has been identified as an effective method to regenerate damaged tissue. Bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells (BM-MNCs) were first reported on a therapeutic angiogenesis for treatment of the ischemic heart in 2000. And the abundant reserve of BM-MNCs in the bone marrow (BM) can avoid the problem of  in vitro  cell expansion. Therefore, in the past decades bone marrow MNCs transplantation has been applied clinically for various ischemic diseases such as acute myocardial infarction, chronic ischemic cardiomyopathy and so on [1].   What is  BM-MNCs ? Bone marrow is a very heterogeneous compartment with multiple cell populations. The term BM-MNC is simply used to collectively denominate all cells present in BM whose nuclei are uninoculated or rounded and lack granules in the cytoplasm. These characteristics give the BM-MNCs a similar density and size, which is different from that of myeloid c...

Stem cells  are primitive, undifferentiated cells that can potentially turn into a wide variety of cell types. Liver cells, blood cells, and muscle cells are only a few of the specialized types that have their origin in stem cells. Aside from their ability to differentiate into cells with specific functions, they can also divide or renew themselves indefinitely.     Because they can repair and regenerate damaged tissue, stem cells continue to command the attention of biomedical researchers who seek insights into the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In the 21st century, researchers have made several breakthroughs that have broadened our understanding of stem cells, which are expected to grow in importance over the coming years as an essential laboratory research tool.   Types of Stem Cells Not all stem cells have the same degree of differentiation ability. For that reason, they are commonly categorized according to the types of cells they can differentiat...

Hepatocytes are parenchymal cells that constitute as much as 80% of the total liver volume and mediate a number of vital liver functions, such as the control of lipid and carbohydrate homeostasis, the synthesis of various proteins, the storage of vitamins, the processing of bile, immunological defense, and the biotransformation of endogenous molecules and xenobiotics [1]. Human hepatocytes directly reflect the specific metabolism and functionality of the human liver, which are recognized as a valuable  in vitro  tool for investigating drug metabolism and assessing the potential hepatotoxicity of new drugs. Cellular therapy based on human hepatocytes is also an alternative to organ transplantation for patients with acute liver failure and liver-based metabolic disease [2, 3].   Human Hepatocytes Isolation For isolation of hepatocytes from liver tissue, the well-established procedure is a standard collagenase perfusion technique, whic...