Authors
Creative Bioarray
Summary
Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (MEFs) are a type of fibroblast derived from the mouse embryo. MEFs have a typical characterization of spindle shape in vitro which is a typical feature of fibroblasts. As a kind of primary cell, MEFs will senescence and finally die off after limited transmission. Nevertheless, several strategies like virus infection or repeated transmission are used to immortalize MEF cells, which is favored for conducting a research. MEFs are widely used in life science researches, especially in stem cell biology and oncology.
Introduction
Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (MEFs) are a type of fibroblast derived from the mouse embryo. MEFs have a typical characterization of spindle shape in vitro which is a typical feature of fibroblasts. As a kind of primary cell, MEFs will senescence and finally die off after limited transmission. Nevertheless, several strategies like virus infection or repeated transmission are used to immortalize MEF cells, which is favored for conducting a research. MEFs are widely used in life science researches, especially in stem cell biology and oncology.
At Creative Bioarray, in addition to commercial established MEFs and related culture materials, custom primary cell culture services are also provided. If you have any demand, please feel free to contact us.
Here is a protocol of MEFs' culture.
Materials
Dulbecco's Ca2+ - and Mg2+- free PBS (D-PBS)
0.05% trypsin
0.53 mmol/L EDTA solution
MEF culture medium (High-glucose DMEM; 10% FBS; 1X penicillin-streptomycin solution)
Freezing media: 10% DMSO and 90% FBS
Procedure
• Subculture of MEF
Mouse embryonic fibroblasts should be subcultured when they reach 80–90% confluence. If the MEF are allowed to reach 100% confluence, growth arrest can result in a decrease in the subsequent proliferative potential of the cells.
1. Aspirate the MEF medium and wash the monolayer of cells with 2–3 mL of room-temperature D-PBS to remove any residual growth medium.
2. Aspirate the D-PBS and add 3–4 mL of room-temperature trypsin–EDTA (T/E). Incubate the dishes at 37°C for 3–5 min.
3. Once the cells have begun to detach, transfer them to a centrifugation tube containing 6–7 mL MEF medium (which contains sufficient FBS to inhibit the trypsin activity) for centrifugation. Residual cells can be collected by rinsing the dish once or twice with 5 mL of the cell/medium mixture.
4. Centrifuge at 1200 rpm (300g) for 5–7 min.
5. Aspirate the T/E containing medium and add fresh MEF culture medium (3 mL per initial input dish).
6. Split the cells at a 1:3~1:5 ratio to expand their numbers. Labeled as "P2" to indicate that this is the second plating of these cells.
7. After 2–3 d, the cells should again reach confluence and are ready to use or to cryopreserve.
References
Freshney, R. I. Culture of Animal Cells. A Manual of Basic Techniques, 2nd ed. 2000.
Celis, J. F. Cell Biology: A Laboratory Handbook, 2nd ed. 1998.
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