One of the limitations of conventional tissue culture on flat two-dimensional surfaces is the loss of complex interactions between the epithelium and stroma. We have devised a culture system that recreates the salient features of the stratified epithelium using primary cell cultures from mouse models. The protocol described here is applicable to the esophageal epithelium, but stratified epithel...

Several hydrolytic enzyme activities were detected in the wall of developing cells of Rubus fruticosus in suspension culture. The corresponding substrates of the enzymes are mostly polysaccharide wall constituents, except for chitinase activity. The activities measured when the enzymes were in the free state or wall-bound showed the positive influence of the cell wall micro-environment. Changes...

Fetal bovine serum (FBS) is a ubiquitously used essential supplement in cell culture media. However, there are serious scientific and ethical concerns about the use of FBS regarding its harvest and production. During the last three decades, FBS could be substituted by other supplements or by the use of defined chemical components in serum-free cell culture. A number of serum-free medium formula...

An ultraviolet-laser microbeam was shown to be suitable for inducing fusion of individually selected plant protoplasts or of B-lymphocytes with myeloma cells. The fusion took place in normal culture medium and the fusogenic condition perturbed the cells only for a fraction of a millisecond. Without manipulating the cell culture except for exposing the cells to laser light, fusion products betwe...

Mycobacterium leprae, despite being recognized as a human pathogen over 140 years ago, remains uncultivable in microbiological culture media or in cell culture systems. Although it is now well established that M. leprae prefers cooler temperatures, slightly acidic microaerophilic conditions, and lipids rather than sugars as an energy source, the exact parameters for a defined axenic medium that...

Human- and animal-pathogenic Bartonella species are fastidious and slow-growing bacteria difficult to isolate and cultivate. We describe a novel, easy-to-prepare liquid medium for the fast and reliable growth of several Bartonella spp. that does not affect bacterial protein expression patterns or interactions with host cells.

BACKGROUND Bone engineering requires thicker three-dimensional constructs than the maximum thickness supported by standard cell-culture techniques (2 mm). A flow-perfusion bioreactor was developed to provide chemotransportation to thick (6 mm) scaffolds. METHODS Polyurethane scaffolds, seeded with murine preosteoblasts, were loaded into a novel bioreactor. Control scaffolds remained in static...

We investigated predator-prey interactions in a model system consisting of the bacterivorous flagellate Poterioochromonas sp. strain DS and the freshwater bacterium Sphingobium sp. strain Z007. This bacterial strain tends to form a subpopulation of grazing-resistant microscopic flocs, presumably by aggregation. Enhanced formation of such flocs could be demonstrated in static batch culture exper...

The action of 22 antimicrobial agents against the SA2f strain of Chlamydia trachomatis has been studied by the use of a simple cell culture technique. Tests for bactericidal activity were undertaken with some of the agents, and latency of infection was demonstrated. The susceptibilities of 10 clinical strains of C. trachomatis and of SA2f to oxytetracyline, erythromycin, and spectinomycin in ce...

Culture medium used in antibody purification contains growth factors, but is usually discarded after antibody purification. We examined to determine whether the growth factors can be (i) recovered and (ii) used in subsequent cell culture. Using this medium enhanced the survival of hybridoma cells and improved antibody production. Culture medium previously used in antibody purification offers an...