March 13-17
This week, I began culturing luciferase positive 231 BR cells. I started the week by looking at the ATCC website and asking my graduate student mentor for culturing tips and recommendations for this cell line. I wanted to ensure that I was performing each step in line with previous students in the lab and/or the manufacturer's recommendations to keep the cell line as healthy as possible.
231 BR cells are epithelial breast cancer cells isolated from a female with metastatic mammary adenocarcinoma. It is a very common cell line used in research. This cell line has been developed into subclones that preferentially metastasize to the brain, lungs, or bones of mice. This is particularly useful for imaging studies tracking cancer metastasis. According to ATCC, the cells should be seeded every 2 or 3 days, at a ratio between 1:2 and 1:4.
I'm continuing to learn how to efficiently culture cells, and what works best for this specific cell line. No significant delays were encountered this week that I can report on in this blog.
That's all for now, I will continue working on learning culturing basics, and prepare to use these cells in BLI trials next week!