C2C12
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

C2C12 is an immortalized
mouse A mouse (: mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus'' ...
myoblast Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development. Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called myotubes. In the early development o ...
cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism that would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells ...
. The C2C12 cell line is a subclone of
myoblasts Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development. Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor myoblasts into multinucleated fibers called myotubes. In the early development of ...
that were originally obtained by Yaffe and Saxel at the
Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( ''Machon Weizmann LeMada'') is a Public university, public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, fourteen years before the State of Israel was founded. Unlike other List of Israeli uni ...
in Israel in 1977. Developed for ''
in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...
'' studies of myoblasts isolated from the complex interactions of ''in vivo'' conditions, C2C12 cells are useful in biomedical research. These cells are capable of rapid proliferation under high
serum Serum may refer to: Biology and pharmacology *Serum (blood), plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed **Antiserum, blood serum with specific antibodies for passive immunity *Serous fluid, any clear bodily fluid Places *Serum, Ind ...
conditions and differentiation into myotubes under low serum conditions. Mononucleated myoblasts can later fuse to form multinucleated myotubes under low serum conditions or starvation, leading to the precursors of contractile skeletal muscle cells in the process of
myogenesis Myogenesis is the formation of skeletal muscle, skeletal muscular tissue, particularly during embryonic development. Skeletal muscle#Skeletal muscle cells, Muscle fibers generally form through the fusion of precursor cell, precursor myoblasts in ...
. C2C12 cells are used to study the differentiation of myoblasts,
osteoblasts Osteoblasts (from the Greek combining forms for "bone", ὀστέο-, ''osteo-'' and βλαστάνω, ''blastanō'' "germinate") are cells with a single nucleus that synthesize bone. However, in the process of bone formation, osteoblasts functi ...
, and myogenesis, to express various target proteins, and to explore mechanistic biochemical pathways.


Morphology

Wild-type The wild type (WT) is the phenotype of the typical form of a species as it occurs in nature. Originally, the wild type was conceptualized as a product of the standard "normal" allele at a locus, in contrast to that produced by a non-standard, " ...
C2C12 cells have a radial branching morphology consisting of long fibers extending in many directions. C2C12 cells can be cultured in a variety of conditions to induce specific responses of interest. For example, assisted by the cell line's high differentiation rate and fusion rate,
fibronectin Fibronectin is a high- molecular weight (~500-~600 kDa) glycoprotein of the extracellular matrix that binds to membrane-spanning receptor proteins called integrins. Fibronectin also binds to other extracellular matrix proteins such as col ...
templates can be micro-plated to petri dishes or cell culture flasks in order to induce specific growth patterns, such as that of skeletal muscle cell interactions with
extracellular matrix In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix (ICM), is a network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide structural and bio ...
components. The introduction of adhesion molecules can alter the growth pattern of C2C12 cells to a longitudinal distribution exhibiting polarity. There are many ways to regulate the shape of C2C12 myoblasts genetically and environmentally, from stress, to
cytoskeleton The cytoskeleton is a complex, dynamic network of interlinking protein filaments present in the cytoplasm of all cells, including those of bacteria and archaea. In eukaryotes, it extends from the cell nucleus to the cell membrane and is compos ...
alteration, to growth factors. The scaffolding of C2C12 cells is particularly important for studying muscle
tissue regeneration Regeneration in biology is the process of renewal, restoration, and tissue growth that makes genomes, cells, organisms, and ecosystems resilient to natural fluctuations or events that cause disturbance or damage. Every species is capable of reg ...
post-injury or after tissue wasting due to disease or ICU rehabilitation.


Uses in research

C2C12 cells have been shown to effectively incorporate exogenous
cDNA In genetics, complementary DNA (cDNA) is DNA that was reverse transcribed (via reverse transcriptase) from an RNA (e.g., messenger RNA or microRNA). cDNA exists in both single-stranded and double-stranded forms and in both natural and engin ...
and nucleic acids by
transfection Transfection is the process of deliberately introducing naked or purified nucleic acids into eukaryotic cells. It may also refer to other methods and cell types, although other terms are often preferred: " transformation" is typically used to des ...
. In the piloting research originally conducted by Yaffe and Saxel, C2C12 were obtained through serial passage of myoblasts cultured from the thigh muscle of C3H mice after crush injury. In their study, a set of C2C12 cells were cultured from normal mouse myoblasts, which were cultured from two-month-old C3H mice after crush injury. Within two days, the normal cells differentiated into spindle-shaped mononucleated myoblasts. After four days, multinucleated myotube networks formed, and a few days after,
sarcomere A sarcomere (Greek σάρξ ''sarx'' "flesh", μέρος ''meros'' "part") is the smallest functional unit of striated muscle tissue. It is the repeating unit between two Z-lines. Skeletal striated muscle, Skeletal muscles are composed of tubular ...
s and Z-lines could be observed. In contrast, the dystrophic cells formed shortened fibers covered in
fibroblast A fibroblast is a type of cell (biology), biological cell typically with a spindle shape that synthesizes the extracellular matrix and collagen, produces the structural framework (Stroma (tissue), stroma) for animal Tissue (biology), tissues, and ...
s, a hallmark of muscle wasting. C2C12 cells demonstrate rapid development and maturation into functional
skeletal muscle cells Skeletal muscle (commonly referred to as muscle) is one of the three types of vertebrate muscle tissue, the others being cardiac muscle and smooth muscle. They are part of the voluntary muscular system and typically are attached by tendons to bo ...
or
cardiac muscle cell Cardiac muscle (also called heart muscle or myocardium) is one of three types of vertebrate muscle tissues, the others being skeletal muscle and smooth muscle. It is an involuntary, striated muscle that constitutes the main tissue of the Heart#Wa ...
s, having the ability to contract and generate force. The rate of muscle formation from C2C12 cells can be controlled by the introduction of loss-of-functions genes vital for the fusion of myoblasts and myogenesis. Under necrotic conditions, such as tumor necrosis factor alpha (
TNF-α Tumor necrosis factor (TNF), formerly known as TNF-α, is a chemical messenger produced by the immune system that induces inflammation. TNF is produced primarily by activated macrophages, and induces inflammation by binding to its receptors o ...
), direct protein loss, particularly
myosin heavy chain Myosins () are a family of motor proteins (though most often protein complexes) best known for their roles in muscle contraction and in a wide range of other motility processes in eukaryotes. They are ATP-dependent and responsible for actin-ba ...
protein, in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells has been shown. C2C12 cells were used to elucidate inactivated
X chromosome The X chromosome is one of the two sex chromosomes in many organisms, including mammals, and is found in both males and females. It is a part of the XY sex-determination system and XO sex-determination system. The X chromosome was named for its u ...
(Xi) replication during early
S-phase S phase (Synthesis phase) is the phase of the cell cycle in which DNA is DNA replication, replicated, occurring between G1 phase, G1 phase and G2 phase, G2 phase. Since accurate duplication of the genome is critical to successful cell division, ...
of the cell cycle and is regulated epigenetically. C2C12 cells are especially convenient for studying the cell cycle due to its high division rate. Most laboratories today use the C2C12 subclone developed by Helen Blau from the original cell line by Yaffe and Saxel. These cells are immortalized, which means that they proliferative indefinitely due to a genetic mutation. The mutation that causes this in C2C12 skeletal muscle cells is believed to be in the INK4a gene (CDKN2A).


References


External links


Cellosaurus entry for C2C12ATCC Sales Page for C2C12
{{DEFAULTSORT:C2c12 Rodent cell lines Myoblasts