Processing of Tissue-Culture Cells

In research, a technique that has evolved in importance is the analysis of the living cell as seen in cell culture. It is within the special boundaries of cell culture that conditions can be manipulated in order to examine living cells and to understand better their behavior (1 ). The fact that transformed or malignant cells grow very nicely in rather simple conditions of chemical formulation make these cells ideal laboratories in which to study cellular processes. Immunocytochemistry as applied to cell culture has allowed experiments on living cells to be examined through the detection of products produced as a result of those experiments (2 ). Also, the immunocytochemical analysis of cell cultures can be used to examine viral infections before obvious cytopathic effect (3 ). It becomes important, therefore, to prepare these cells adequately in order to understand fully the implications of the various experiments or inoculations. There are many ways of doing so, with and without cell removal from the culture flask. Once the cells are ready to be evaluated by immunocytochemical means, there are several preparative procedures available, each effective for a slightly different set of conditions. Cells are grown in culture to confluence or suspension in the case of nonadherent cells, The techniques for doing so are beyond the scope of this text; most cell culture protocols are readily available in the literature.