A cultured cell is a cell that has been removed from its original biological context, such as an animal or plant, and is then grown and maintained in an artificially created environment.
In simpler terms, cell culture involves taking cells from a living organism and growing them in a controlled setting outside of that organism. This controlled setting typically includes specific nutrients, temperature, and other environmental conditions that allow the cells to survive and multiply.
Key Aspects of Cell Culture:
- Removal from Source: Cells are initially extracted from a living organism, either directly from tissue or from a cell line (a population of cells that can divide indefinitely).
- Artificial Environment: These cells are then placed in a lab-created environment. This typically involves:
- Nutrient-rich media: Providing the necessary building blocks for cell growth and metabolism.
- Controlled Temperature and Humidity: Maintaining optimal conditions for cell survival and function, usually 37°C and high humidity.
- Sterile Conditions: Preventing contamination from bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.
- Growth and Proliferation: Under favorable conditions, the cells will divide and multiply, forming a larger population of cells.
- Applications: Cultured cells are used extensively in a variety of research, diagnostic, and therapeutic applications, including:
- Drug discovery: Testing the effects of new drugs on cells.
- Disease modeling: Studying diseases at the cellular level.
- Vaccine production: Growing cells to produce viral antigens for vaccines.
- Tissue engineering: Creating new tissues and organs for transplantation.
- Basic research: Studying cell biology and function.
Example
Imagine scientists want to study how cancer cells respond to a new drug. They can take cancer cells from a tumor, grow them in a lab dish, and then expose these cultured cells to the drug. By observing the effects on the cultured cells, they can get valuable insights into how the drug works and whether it might be an effective treatment.
In summary, a cultured cell is a cell grown in an artificial environment outside of its original biological context, primarily for research, diagnostic, or therapeutic purposes.
