47] Use of chemostat culture for the study of the effect of interferon on tumor cell multiplication

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter outlines some of the restrictions of conventional cell culture and describes an alternative system, chemostat continuous-flow culture, which overcomes some of the disadvantages of conventional cell culture, and then shows how chemostat culture can be used to study the effect of interferon on tumor cell multiplication. It is shown that under steady-state conditions in the chemostat the observed rate of heat production of L1210 cells remains constant with respect to time, in contrast to batch culture, where heat production changes continuously with cell multiplication. Thus, microcalorimetry used in conjunction with chemostat culture provides a valuable system for the study of both tumor cell multiplication and the mode of action of antitumor agents, such as interferon. The possible applications of the chemostat culture of animal cells are myriad, and the experiments described are merely examples of the type of study that can be carried out using the chemostat. Such studies are not confined to mouse L1210 cells but are applicable to a wide range of animal cell lines. Although chemostat culture is based on the cultivation of cells in homogeneous suspension culture, anchorage-dependent cells could possibly be cultivated in the chemostat if attached to a suitable microcarrier. If such a system were to prove feasible, it would provide a valuable means of comparing the effect of interferon on the multiplication of normal and tumor cells under identical conditions.