What's the protocol for culturing cancer cells?
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It really depends of the cancer cells you want to culture. In most cases, you have to rely on the protocol published on the ATCC (http://www.lgcpromochem-atcc.com/)... database. Most cultured cancer cells will grow in culture media (such as DMEM, IMDM, RPMI, MEM, etc) supplemented with 5 or 10% fetal calf serum (FCS), glutamine and antibiotics. Some specific cancer cells of lymphoblastoid nature will also need supplementation of specific cytokines (IL1, IL6, IL3, etc). Cancer cells can be kept at 37C and be split every 3-5 days when confluencey is reached. If the cultured cells are adherent to the culture flask, they will need to be detached by proteolytic enzymes such as tryspine (+EDTA), resuspended in complete culture medium and re-plated at lower density to avoid cell- cell contact.
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