The L-cell isolation from heterogonous population of intestinal cell line using antibiotic selection method

Enteroendocrine cells are the largest population of hormone-producing cells in the body and play important roles in many aspects of body functions. The enteroendocrine cell population is divided into different subpopulations that secrete different hormones and peptides. Characterization of each subpopulation is particularly useful for analyzing the cellular mechanisms responsible for specific cell types. Therefore, the necessity of a pure cell line for a specific study purpose was the important motivation for the separation of cell lines for each subpopulation of enteroendocrine cells. The present research introduces a method for the isolation of L-cells, one of the important subpopulations of enteroendocrine cells. The antibiotic selection method was conducted in order to isolate the L-cells from a heterogonous population of intestinal cell line. In this method, a neomycin resistance gene (as selected marker) was expressed under the control of a specific promoter of L-cells. After transfection of manipulated plasmid, only the cells which determine the specific promoter and express neomycin resistance protein would be able to survive under Geneticin antibiotic treatment condition. In order to confirm that the isolated cells were L-cells, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and quantitative PCR assays were performed. Based on the results, the isolated cells were pure L-cells that could be able to express specific mRNA of L-cells efficiently. This technique provides a unique method for the isolation and purification of any cell line. The purified isolated L-cells by this method can be used for future studies and for analyzing cellular mechanisms that involve L-cells' functions.