Cell Isolation from Tissue

Abstract

In the past several decades, cell transplantation has been growing widespread as one of the most promising treatments for different diseases. However, the methods of cell isolation are not optimized at the current time. Therefore, the choice of one technique over another has often been arbitrary and based more on individual experiences rather than on an understanding of why a certain method works and what modifications could lead it to an even better outcome. The goal of a cell isolation procedure is to optimize the yield of functionally viable, isolated cells. As cell isolation is a complex procedure, many factors affect its outcome. Type of tissue, donor’s body mass index and age, cold ischemia during organ preservation, dissociation medium, dissociation enzyme(s), impurities in enzyme preparations, concentration(s) of enzyme(s), and digestion time are among the factors that affect the cell isolation outcome. Researchers searching the literature for information on the ideal enzymes and optimal conditions for tissue dissociation often have to deal with conflicting data. Much of the variation stems from the complex and dynamic nature of the extracellular matrix in different tissues and the undefined enzyme preparations used for cell isolation applications. This article summarizes different tissue/cell isolation protocols to achieve a logical approach for establishing a specific cell isolation standard operating procedure (SOP).