Growth and morphology of anchorage-dependent animal cells in a liquid/liquid interface system

In general, anchorage-dependent animal cells cultivated on a solid culture substrate, such as polystyrene, are collected by trypsin treatment. This treatment may have detrimental effects such as the proteolysis of the cell membrane proteins. To avoid these effects, cell cultivation using a liquid/liquid interface system has been investigated. In this cultivation method, the cells grow at the interface between a culture medium and a hydrophobic liquid. In this study, various fluorocarbons (FC-40, FC-70, KPF-91, KPF-102, and KPF-142) were used as substrates for the interface, and the cultivation of fibroblast cells (L-929; the mouse-derived cell line) at the interfaces was investigated. Early in the cultivation period, the growth of L-929 cells depended on the substrate type. Although cell cultivation at the interfaces was possible, it was slower than that at the polystyrene surface. Cell spreading at the interfaces was relatively small, which indicates that cell adhesion at the interfaces may be weak. In particular, the cells at the MEM/FC-70 interface anchored with one another and formed multicellular hemispherical aggregations shaped like spheroids. The difference in the adhesions to the interfaces appears to be dependent on the contaminants contained in the fluorocarbons because the physical properties of the fluorocarbon did not affect the cell growth and adhesion. Moreover, subcultivation from the interfaces to the same interface was possible without trypsin treatment. In this case, the delay of the growth at the interfaces did not occur because the cells were not affected by trypsin treatment.