How to Culture Primary Cells : Exploring the Role of Customized Cell Culture

Primary cells have led to significant advancements in research. With its numerous benefits and diverse applications, the primary cell culture has become the focal point of in vitro research. The source of cells in terms of species and tissue is essential. Although human primary cells are preferable in research, their limited availability and requirement for disease-specific models often encourage the utilization of cells from standard animal models like swine.

Human Primary Cells: In Vitro Research Models

The two-dimensional culture prompted the use of Human Primary Cells, which are extracted directly from the tissue. Their retention of tissue-specific characteristics- genotype and phenotype- provides more relevant and reliable results. Thus, they are adequate models for studying cell biology, delineating signaling pathways, modeling disease, and developing drugs. They are particularly beneficial for screening drugs for toxicity and efficacy.  

The following advantages of primary cells have promoted their use:

• They eliminate the need to set up multiple assays on animals, which has ethical implications along with time, money, and cost considerations.
• They also permitted high-throughput screenings, which assist in eliminating the ineffective or toxic compounds before proceeding to the next stage.
• The three-dimensional culture offers a better representation of the in vivo environment. Additionally, it also provides the option of growing organs in a laboratory.
• They have enabled effortless gene editing as compared to animal models.
• Large-scale manufacturing of biosimilars, vaccines, and antibodies also utilizes these cells.

Swine Primary Cells: Translational Models for Human Disease Research

Swine or pig models have found application in human xenotransplantation. Their preference over the frequently used rodent models arises from the following reasons.

• The swine models resemble humans more closely to humans in terms of anatomy, 
• physiology, and organ size. It also permits drug safety and dosage evaluation similar to human standards.
• The short generation times and large litter size make them as cost-effective alternatives among other large animal models.
• The implants and surgical procedures are possible on swine models due to their size, which is challenging in rodent models. 
• Several of their signaling processes are comparable to those of humans in several tissues.
• They are compatible with gene editing to create appropriate disease models for biomedical and pharmaceutical studies.
• Pigs are suitable models with the most translational potential, as demonstrated by their resemblance to humans. Therefore, researchers have begun using swine primary cells for more precise results.

Customized Cell Culture: Tailoring Sources and Media

This new era is focused on tailoring solutions according to the needs of the population. In the in vitro culture, it is translated to the custom-specific media and cell sources. 

Cell Sources: Although primary cell culture has replaced extensive experimentation on animal models, they still serve as cell sources. Different animal models cater to different diseases, and thus, their cells can enable a better understanding of the underlying pathophysiology. In a similar manner, human sources could also be tailored in terms of the donor profile based on gender, medical history, disease, etc. However, the utilization of different sources of cells also adds to the challenge of culturing them.

Customized Media: One type of media is not suitable for all kinds of cells, as evident by several research studies. This has led to the formation of different basal media since the beginning of cell culture. Optimal cell survival and growth often require a little tweaking of the media formulation. For example, adding a growth factor can hinder or boost cell growth. The following are the benefits of using customized culture media:

Reliable Results: Cells do not grow adequately in media not optimized to their needs. It leads to cellular distress leading to changes in signaling pathways and genetic expression. However, customization adds reliability to the results by ensuring proper cell growth.

Cost-effective: Media customization is thought to be an expensive task. Still, it saves money in the long run by preventing cell loss due to inadequate media and allowing higher survival.

Save Time: The time spent on experimentation in an inadequate medium seems wasted when it does not provide reproducibility, leading to delays in your research goal.

The key considerations of custom cell culture include understanding the cell type, as it gives an idea of the basal media. For instance, adherent cells prefer DMEM. Additionally, micronutrients like calcium concentration affect the sustainability of cells. Furthermore, certain cells require additional coating on the cell culture dish composed of proteins like fibronectin, collagen, etc.

The Concluding Statement

Human primary cells have paved the way for many discoveries through the years. The use of appropriate animal models and tissues can considerably enhance the discovery process. Because swine models have characteristics that are similar to those of humans, they are considered to be superior for research. Since each cell type exhibits unique characteristics, there is a need for customized media solutions. It allows for the appropriate cell growth, saving money and time while yielding reproducible outcomes. Kosheeka is a cell culture company that offers human and swine primary cells along with customization services in terms of species and donor profile of cell source.