Growth of cells cultivated
in vitro can be estimated by various methods devised by many research workers in the field of tissue culture studies. Generally speaking, those estimating methods may be divided into some lines, that is, areal measuring of cell colonies in cultures with solid phase of growth, cell number counting in the state of cell suspension, and many other physicochemical methods.
Areal measuring method originally adopted by Carrel on coverslip or flask cultures supported by plasma clot, was later modified by many workers from several directions, following the improvement of tissue culture technique itself. While coverslip or flask culture technique had been thus improved, Gey devised another method of tissue culture, so-called roller-tube technique, on the basis of Carrel's suggestion, and he and his associates succeeded to separate and establish a cell strain of rat origin under continuous
in vitro cultures using this roller-tube technique. This strain, which has undergone the later change in biological character to become malignant, grows easily on the glass wall of the tube without any substrate, forming almost monolayer cell colonies. Ehrmann and Gey used this characteristic strain to evaluate nutritional substances
in vitro, and obtained more precise results than those in the past.
Meanwhile, Earle and co-workers established, after many years' studies on tissue culture, a more accurate quantitative method of growth estimation by cell nuclei counting, depending on their own device of replicate suspension cultures. This counting method can represent the growth of cells more exactly than areal measuring method, though it is more or less complicated in handling or procedure.
The present authors have been studying on tissue culture from several viewpoints. Our special interest is in cultivating malignant tumor cells to pursue their biological characters in rather broad meaning.
In the present paper, will be reported the results of several experiments concerning fundamental culture conditions of normal tissue cells including embryonic heart of chick, mouse, and human origins. Roller-tube technique and areal growth measuring of cell colonies were used throughout experiments. Some methodological points will be discussed.
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