Cell culture as a unique model for research in modern biology and medicine

Abstract

The method of cell culture is widely used as a model for a wide range of basic research, testing and production of therapeutic and immunobiological drugs in modern biology and medicine. The use of cell cultures in virology allowed to study normal and pathological behavior of viruses, to determine their sensitivity to different tissues and organs, leading to revolutionary changes in the diagnosis of viral infections, the isolation and identification of viruses that caused the discovery of new viruses. The creation of adequate conditions for cell culture was the basis for the development of biotechnology. Opportunity to study the morphology of the cells and their ultrastructure, cultural and molecular biological characteristics make a unique cell culture model to study the toxicity of substances or testing of specific activity of therapeutic drugs and leads to a significant reduction in the number of experimental laboratory animals. The cultivation of stem and progenitor cells in vitro provides new data on the characteristics and the metabolism of the cells, can detect early signs of changes in their status, differentiation, and development. The data on cell transformation, would create a system of early tumor cells diagnosis, to pick up drugs for the prevention or inhibition of the process. The possibility of growing cells of various tissues and organs makes promising their use in regenerative medicine for the reconstruction of organs and / or maintain their function, the ethical, religious, and legal issues.