NEW Blood Products Expand Lifeline’s Product Portfolio
The Role Blood Cells Play in the Body’s Subsystems
The immune system is comprised of the innate and adaptive immunity, which are responsible for protecting the body from foreign pathogens like viruses and bacteria. Leukocytes or white blood cells are the main effectors of the immune system with key cell types playing specific roles in each subsystem. Hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which reside in the bone marrow give rise to these blood cells in a process called hematopoiesis. HSCs differentiate into the lymphoid lineage, which are precursors of B, T, and NK Cells. They also produce myeloid progenitor cells that give rise to neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and mast cells.
The ability to culture these cells in vitro enables researchers to study immunological responses to pathogens that can better our understanding of cellular pathways and also help identify new therapeutic targets. Lifeline® is pleased to announce the addition of new blood cell products to facilitate this research.
- Human CD4+ Helper T Cells – 5 Million Cells per Vial
- Human CD8+ Cytotoxic T Cells – 5 Million Cells per Vial
- Human CD14+ Monocytes – 5 Million Cells per Vial
- Human CD19+ B Cells – 5 Million Cells per Vial
- RPMI 1640 Medium Complete Kit (RPMI 1640 Basal Medium, Fetal Bovine Serum, Gentamicin and Amphotericin B)
- CD4+ Helper T Cells, 5M System Complete Kit (Includes LL-0066 and HC-0028)
- CD8+ Cytotoxic T Cells, 5M System Complete Kit (Includes LL-0066 and HC-0029)
- CD14+ Monocyte Cells, 5M System Complete Kit (Includes LL-0066 and HC-0030)
- CD19+ B Cells, 5M System Complete Kit (Includes LL-0066 and HC-0031)
Monocytes
Monocytes, characterized by the expression of the CD14 cell surface receptor, play an integral role in inflammatory responses as part of the innate immunity. Monocytes differentiate into macrophages and dendritic cells, which serve three key functions in the immune system: phagocytosis, antigen presentation, and cytokine production.
Lifeline’s Human CD14+ Monocytes are purified from leukapharesed peripheral blood using immunomagnetic positive selection where anti-CD14+ antibodies bind to monocytes separating them from the other blood cells. Human CD14+ Monocytes are cryopreserved directly after isolation to ensure optimal phenotype and the highest viability and plating efficiency. Our Human CD14+ Monocytes are quality tested via flow cytometry to ensure the enrichment of CD14+ cells.
Lymphocytes
The adaptive immune system is comprised of lymphocytes like B and T Cells, which are responsible for antibody and cell-mediated immune responses against foreign pathogens. This occurs through the presentation and recognition of specific “non-self” antigens, which activates the B and T Cell effectors.
When B Cells are activated by a foreign antigen binding to the B Cell receptor, they produce antibodies against it that induce a cascade of events leading to pathogen neutralization. A certain subset of B Cells can differentiate into memory B Cells when activated. These long-lived cells ‘remember’ a particular antigen allowing a much more rapid immune response to be mounted in case of a re-infection by the same antigen.
T Cells can be subdivided into CD4+ and CD8+ subtypes each with their own unique immune function. CD4+ lymphocytes, also called “helper” T Cells, do not have direct effector roles but they are important to recruit and activate other immune cells to manage the global immune response to a foreign pathogen. CD8+ cells or cytotoxic T Cells are activated when they bind foreign antigens through MHC complexes, which induces cell lysis in the target cell. Currently, T Cells are of particular interest in the development of cellular therapies targeted against hematologic indications like leukemia and lymphoma. T Cells can be genetically modified to target specific cancer antigens in chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T Cell therapies.
Lifeline’s Human CD19+ B Cells are purified from leukapharesed peripheral blood using immunomagnetic positive selection, while the CD4+ Helper T Cells and CD8+ Cytotoxic T Cells are isolated using immunomagnetic negative selection. Negative immunomagnetic selection separation methods label unwanted cell types for removal with antibodies or ligands targeting specific cell surface proteins. In this case, the desired T Cells remain unbound by the particles, leaving the cells unaltered for flexible use in many downstream applications. Cells are cryopreserved directly after isolation to ensure optimal phenotype and the highest viability and plating efficiency. Our cells are quality tested via flow cytometry to ensure the enrichment of the desired cell type.
How are you using Lifeline cell systems in your research? Let us know and your published study could be featured next time in our Blog!