Brain Cancer and Application of Brain Cancer Cell Lines

Author: AcceGen R&D Team

Introduction: Brain and Brain Cancer

The brain is the control center of life activities and one of the core organs of the body that maintain vital signs, which means that brain cancer (the top ten in incidence rate) can lead to serious consequences. The complex brain structure also makes the clinical treatment of brain cancer face significant challenges. Therefore, it is of great significance to study and explore the pathological mechanism and treatment methods of brain cancer.

Brain

The brain (Figure1.a) is located in the head close to the sensory organ system (such as the vision system). The structure of the human brain mainly includes the cerebrum, brainstem and cerebellum. There are about 14-16 billion neurons in the cerebral cortex and up to 55-70 billion neurons in the cerebellum[1; 2]. Therefore, the brain is the most complex organ in vertebrate animals that serves as the central and core of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals. The anatomical structures of the brain between species are greatly different, but the basic cellular structure is highly similar[3]. The brain is composed primarily of two broad classes of cells in all species: neurons and glial cells. Glial cells serve several functions to support the basic physiological activity of the brain, such as structural support, metabolic support and regulation, insulation, and development guidance[4]. Neurons (Figure1.b) are often considered the most important cells in the brain that can send neural signals to the corresponding brain regions over long distances[5]. The functions of the brain mainly include perception, motor control, sleep regulation, homeostasis, motivation, learning and memory, etc. The brain dominates almost all physiological activities and regulates the body’s adaptation to the external environment. These pieces of information demonstrate the importance and indispensability of the brain.

Application: Brain Cancer Cell Lines and Culture Methods

Brain cancer cell lines of human origin or animal origin (mainly mouse and rat) are common tools for the laboratory of brain cancers. About human brain cancer cell lines, the most commonly used is Glioma cell line U87, although in recent years this cell line has experienced similar genetic background problems as the cervical cancer cell line Hela, it is still one of the most commonly used cell lines[16]. Besides U87, Glioma cell line A172 and Astrocytoma cell lines 1321N1, CCF-STTG1, SW1783, and SW1088 are all optional for the research. For animal brain cancer cell lines, mouse-origin microglial cell lines BV-2, pituitary cell line AtT-20, and rat-origin pituitary cell lines GH1&GH3 are all widely used in the research of brain cancers.

The culture protocol of brain cancer cell lines, human Glioma cell line A172[17], mouse microglial cell lines BV-2[18], and rat pituitary cell lines GH3[19] will be briefly introduced as examples. A172 needs to culture in DMEM with 4.5g/L glucose, 10% FCS, and 1% penicillin&streptomycin. BV-2 needs to culture in DMEM with 10% FBS and 1% penicillin&streptomycin. And GH3 needs to culture in F10 with 15% horse serum (HS), 2.5% FBS, 1% penicillin&streptomycin and 2 mM L-glutamine. These cell lines all need to culture at 37℃ with 5% CO₂. Different cell lines may have different culture medium composition requirements, and the researchers can refer to the guidance of the corresponding cell line supplier in the specific operation.

Publication: A Case of Practical Research Work Using Brain Cancer Cells

Non-coding RNA (Nc-RNA) has been a hot spot in physiology and medicine in recent years. It has been found to play various roles in the physiological and pathological processes, thus becoming potential therapeutic targets in many diseases, including brain cancers. In a publication published in 2019, Zhang et al. used A172 cell line to determine that circular RNA PRKCI (cricPRKCI) can inhibit miR-545 to promote the progression of glioma cells[20]. Firstly, they found the up-regulation of circPRKCI and down-regulation of miR-546 levels in human glioma tissues and glioma cells. Then, silencing the expression of cricPRKCI in A172 cells through shRNA inhibited their growth, survival, proliferation, and migration, while the overexpression of cricPRKCI in A172 cells showed the opposite of silencing expression. Moreover, they found that the overexpression of miR-545 in A172 cells inhibited the survival and proliferation of glioma cells. And the inhibition of miR-545 on A172 could reverse circPRKCI shRNA-induced anti-A172 cell activity, and the overexpression and silencing of circPRKCI were both invalid in A172 cells. At last, they identified that the silencing of circPRKCI could inhibit the subcutaneous and orthotopic A172 xenograft growth.

Conclusion

The brain is the most complex and one of the most important organs that control physiological activities and maintain perceptual, cognitive, and behavioral abilities, which makes brain cancer one of the most dangerous and intractable cancers in clinic. And the research on the pathological mechanism and potential treatment of brain cancer are of great significance.

Where to Get Tumor Cell Lines for Your Research?

AcceGen offers a wide range of high-quality human/animal tumor cell lines, including human Glioma cell line A172, mouse microglial cell lines BV-2, rat pituitary cell lines GH3, and so on. These cell lines provide you with a convenient means to research. To get more information, please refer to: Tumor Cell Lines.

It is our pleasure to help relative researches to move forward. All the products of AcceGen are strictly comply with international standards. For more detailed information, please visit our product portfolio or contact inquiry@accegen.com.

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