Culture Cell Unit

Se entiende por cultivo celular al conjunto de técnicas que permiten el mantenimiento de las células ‘in vitro’, manteniendo al máximo sus propiedades bioquímicas, fisiológicas y genéticas. Existen 4 tipos de cultivo celular, siendo el cultivo celular primario el más utilizado. En el cultivo celular primario se pierden las interacciones célula-célula y las interacciones de la célula con la matriz extracelular, sin embargo, las células son capaces de proliferar y crecer dando lugar a monocapas de células (las células crecen adheridas sobre un soporte sólido) o a suspensiones celulares (las células se encuentran dispersas en el medio de cultivo). 

When the cells reach confluence (they occupy all the available surface) they cease their growth and it is necessary to transfer the cells to a new support, this is what is called passage. Successive passages give rise to what is known as a finite cell line, which can undergo 70-100 cell divisions. If the cell line undergoes transformation in culture (spontaneous or induced) or if it involves cells derived from tumors that are already immortal, the cell line can grow indefinitely and is called a continuous cell line.

Within the CNTA cell culture unit, we work with continuous adherent cell lines, that is, lines capable of multiplying indefinitely and that grow adhered to a solid support. At the moment, the cell lines available are:

• L-929 cell line: mouse fibroblasts. For cytotoxicity studies.
• Caco-2 cell line: intestinal epithelium cells from human adenocarcinoma. For studies of adherence, competition, exclusion and displacement.
• HT-29 cell line: intestinal epithelium cells from human adenocarcinoma. For immunomodulatory effect studies.
• Raw 264.7 cell line: mouse macrophages. For immunomodulatory effect studies.
• 3T3-L1 cell line: pre-adipocytes (mouse fibroblasts that differentiate into adipocytes). For adipogenesis and lipolysis studies.

What does it offer to companies?

The CNTA Cell Culture Unit allows rapid and effective small-scale in vitro screening of extracts, ingredients and / or functional foods based on their functional properties through the following studies:

• Cytotoxicity: the concentration of extract / ingredient that is not toxic is evaluated.
• Immunomodulatory effect: the ability of an extract / ingredient to modulate the immune response is evaluated.
• Inhibition of adipogenesis: the ability of an extract / ingredient to inhibit the accumulation of fat in adipocytes is evaluated.
• Induction of lipolysis: the ability of an extract / ingredient to induce the degradation of fat in adipocytes is evaluated.

Based on a combination of some of these studies, your prebiotic fitness can also be determined.

In this Unit, it is also possible to carry out the in vitro characterization of the probiotic aptitude of certain species of beneficial bacteria that are used as food ferments or added as ingredients to food:

• Adhesiveness: the ability of a beneficial bacteria to adhere to the intestinal epithelium layer is evaluated
• Competition, exclusion and displacement: the ability of a beneficial bacterium to compete, exclude or displace pathogenic bacteria from their binding sites to the intestinal epithelium layer is evaluated.
• Immunomodulatory effect: the ability of a beneficial bacterium to modulate the immune response is evaluated.

Within the Red Tecnomifood, the cell culture unit constitutes a first screening based on the possible functionalities that an extract / ingredient or bacteria / food may have. The results obtained from the selected materials can be confirmed and studied in more detail in more complex organisms such as Caenorhabditis elegans or zebrafish.