A Rapid Method to Immortalize Schwann Cells

The study of cells aids in comprehending the pathophysiology of diseases. However, obtaining a large number of primary cells in a short period is challenging, and they senesce and die after repeated passages. Therefore, establishing immortalized cell lines is necessary for conducting cellular experiments. Researchers commonly use antibiotics to screen immortalized cell models upon construction. However, due to the low transfection rate of the immortalized genes, a significant number of nonimmortalized cells are killed. The connections between the cells act as a web that floats when many cells die. As a result, successfully transfected immortalized cells are lifted and carried away, leading to only a small number of immortalized cells surviving. The surviving cells survive in the absence of other cell-secreted factors. However, their proliferative ability is limited, which makes obtaining immortalized cell lines a time-consuming process. This study aimed to shorten the time required to obtain immortalized cell lines by constructing immortalized Schwann cells and improving the traditional screening method. The immortalized gene transfectants were first cultured, passaged, and then screened. A comparison with the traditional screening method demonstrated the feasibility and advantages of the improved method.