Evaluation of phenotypic and functional stability of RAW 264.7 cell line through serial passages

PLoS One. 2018 Jun 11;13(6):e0198943. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198943. eCollection 2018.

Abstract

Established cell lines are widely used in research, however an appealing question is the comparability of the cells between various laboratories, their characteristics and stability in time. Problematic is also the cell line misidentification, genetic and phenotypic shift or Mycoplasma contamination which are often forgotten in research papers. The monocyte/macrophage-like cell line RAW 264.7 has been one of the most commonly used myeloid cell line for more than 40 years. Despite its phenotypic and functional stability is often discussed in literature or at various scientific discussion panels, their stability during the consecutive passages has not been confirmed in any solid study. So far, only a few functional features of these cells have been studied, for example their ability to differentiate into osteoclasts. Therefore, in the present paper we have investigated the phenotype and functional stability of the RAW 264.7 cell line from passage no. 5 till passage no. 50. We found out that the phenotype (expression of particular macrophage-characteristic genes and surface markers) and functional characteristics (phagocytosis and NO production) of RAW 264.7 cell line remains stable through passages: from passage no. 10 up to passage no. 30. Overall, our results indicated that the RAW 264.7 cell line should not be used after the passage no. 30 otherwise it may influence the data reliability.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Macrophages / cytology*
  • Macrophages / immunology
  • Macrophages / metabolism*
  • Mice
  • Nitric Oxide
  • Phagocytosis
  • Phenotype
  • Proteins / genetics
  • Proteins / metabolism
  • RAW 264.7 Cells*
  • Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

Substances

  • Proteins
  • Nitric Oxide

Grants and funding

The research described in this paper was funded by UMO-2015/18/E/NZ6/00642 SONATA BIS grant from the National Science Centre. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.