Primary Cells: The Indispensable Tools for Research and Drug Development
                     PRIMARY 
CTheE IndLispeLnsable Tools for Research and Drug 
Development
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Primary Cells
• Primary cells are derived from the 
tissue.
• They can divide for up to a few cell 
divisions.
• Except for a few cells, most primary 
cells require a substrate to grow.
• Due to the requirement of a substrate, 
they grow as a monolayer.
• They inhibit proliferation when in 
contact with other cells.
Primary vs Immortalized 
Cell LinPriemasry Cells Immortalized Cell Lines
Primary Cells have a limited life span They can divide for an indefinite period.
Cell lines originate from normal and cancer 
These cells originate from a normal tissue
tissues
They retain tissue phenotype and genotype These cells have lost similarity to the tissue
Primary cells mostly grow as adherent cells in They can grow as both adherent and 
vitro suspension cells
They can be created in the lab from primary 
They are not formed in lab, but only extracted
cells
Sources of Primary Cells
• They are generally isolated from an organ.
• Moreover, blood also contains primary cells.
• Primary cells can also be isolated from 
embryonic and fetal tissues.
Primary Cell Culture
• Primary cells also accumulate mutations as 
long as they stay in culture.
• These cells should be used at low passage Image Source: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Types-of-in-vitro-models-to-study-oxidative-stress-A-Cell-culture-can-
be-sourced-from_fig1_366629019
numbers.
• They need an optimal growth medium, and 
some cells may even require additional growth 
factors.
Applications of Primary 
C• eScilenltsists have studied cell signaling pathways from primary cells.
• They have provided insights into disease pathogenesis.
• Primary cells have been employed for developing and screening drugs.
• They are used to create spheroids and organoids for better 
representation of the in vivo environment.
• They are being genetically engineered to produce products such as 
vaccines, insulin, antibodies, etc.
• Primary cells are also experimented upon to grow organs in the lab.
• They have been reprogrammed into induced pluripotent stem cells 
(iPSCs).
Conclusions
• Primary cells are powerful tools for research with 
numerous applications.
• They can be directly obtained from a tissue.
• However, their limited proliferation capacity makes 
their culture difficult.
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