Survival and function of fibroblasts stored as stock cultures at a non-freezng temperature

By Andren, A.H.G. - Wieslander, A.P.

Cytotoxicity, measured as inhibition of cell growth of cultured cell lines, is a widely used method for testing the safety of biomaterials and chemicals. One major technical disadvantage with this method is the continuous routine maintenance of the cell lines. We decided to investigate the possibility of storing stock cultures of fibroblasts (L-929) in an ordinary refrigerator as a means of reducing the routine workload. Stock cultures of the mouse fibroblast cell line L-929 were prepared in plastic vials with Eagle's minimum essential medium. The vials were stored in a refrigerator at 4-10 degrees C for periods of 7-31 days. The condition of the cells after storage was determined as cell viability, cell growth and the toxic response to acrylamide, measured as cell growth inhibition. We found that the L-929 cell line can be stored for 2-3 weeks with a viability > 90%, and a cell growth of about 95%, compared to L-929 cells grown and subcultured in the normal manner. The results also show that the toxic response to acrylamide, using refrigerator stored L-929 cells, corresponds to that of control L-929 cells. We concluded that it is possible to store L-929 cells in a refrigerator for periods of up to 3 weeks and still use the cells for in vitro cytotoxic assays.