Overview   Lab & Research     Rane Lab     My Research       -Neurons       -Ion Channels       -Patch Clamp       -Growth Factors       -PC12 Cells       -Summary   Pseudoscience   Evolution &   Creationism	PC12 Cells Conducting experiments in real neurons is a tedious task at best. More often than not, it involves tearing into a living organism and removing something that the organism needs to live. The neurons are then plated onto a tissue culture disk in appropriate medium and experiments are conducted. Once a set of experiments is finished, the process begins anew. An excellent alternative to the above rigmarole is to use an immortal cell line, and by immortal, I mean cancerous. Once extracted from the host organism and plated in a tissue culture dish, these cells proliferate like mad. They are easy to care for, and when you get enough of them, you can freeze them down for use in the future. Indeed, there are cell lines that have existed longer than the scientists who use them. PC12 cells (shown at the right) are an immortal cell line derived from the cancerous tissue of a rat adrenal gland, but differ from other cancerous cells in that they have some very special properties. In their "normal" undifferentiated state, PC12 cells exhibit the properties of a non-neuronal cell. However, if these cells are exposed to specific growth factors, namely NGF, they begin to change. Over the course of a week, the cells stop dividing, extend processes, and become electrically excitable. In other words, they differentiate into a neuronal-like cell type. This property excited many a neurobiologist for it represented a model for the long-term effects of growth factors: Specifically, how a growth factor could regulate the development of a full-fledge neuron. Furthermore, PC12 cells that had been transformed with growth factors served as an excellent model for the workings of sympathetic neurons. Hence, we can use PC12 cells to study the acute (short-term) effects of growth factors on neurons as well. Are these cells perfect models for neurons? Absolutely not. First, the observation that PC12 cells are cancerous suggests that their internal machinery is not quite up to spec. There are numerous other caveats as well. Overall, however, the evidence acquired over nearly two decades suggests these cells can be used as excellent models for understanding the physiology of real neurons. Despite all the information I fed you, you probably still don't have a clear idea of what I used to do in the lab. Perhaps you pieced it together as you went along. If not, then it's time to put it all together in one coherent statement.
Mind 'Scapes, its pages and contents are © 1998 by Michael D. Hilborn, President of the Biggles 2000 Time-Dimensional Corporation. You are free to copy and use the original artwork on these pages, although I would appreciate it if you ask me first.