Regular inspection of the morphology of cultured cells (ie their shape and appearance) is essential for a successful cell culture experiment. In addition to confirming the health of the cells, checking the cells with the naked eye and a microscope each time they are processed will allow you to detect any signs of contamination early and control it before it spreads to other cultures around the laboratory.
Signs of cell degeneration include granularity around the nucleus, separation of cells and matrix, and vacuolation of the cytoplasm. Signs of spoilage can be caused by a variety of reasons, including culture contamination, cell line senescence, or the presence of toxic substances in the culture medium, or they may simply indicate that the culture needs to be replaced. Allowing the deterioration to go too far will make it irreversible.
1.Mammalian cell morphology
Most mammalian cells in culture can be divided into three basic categories based on their morphology.
1.1 Fibroblasts (or fibroblast-like) cells are bipolar or multipolar, have an elongated shape, and grow attached to the substrate.
1.2 Epithelial-like cells are polygonal, have a more regular size, and are attached to the matrix in discrete sheets.
1.3 Lymphoblast-like cells are spherical and usually grow in suspension without attaching to the surface.
In addition to the basic categories listed above, certain cells also display morphological characteristics specific to their special role in the host.
1.4 Neuronal cells exist in different shapes and sizes, but can be roughly divided into two basic morphological categories, type I with long axons for long-distance movement signals and type II without axons. A typical neuron projects a cell extension with many branches from the cell body, which is called a dendritic tree. Neuronal cells can be unipolar or pseudo-unipolar. Dendrites and axons emerge from the same process. Bipolar axons and single dendrites are located at opposite ends of the somatic cell (the central part of the cell containing the nucleus). Or multipolar ones have more than two dendrites.
Post time: Feb-01-2023