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U-138 MG
Tissue
Brain
Disease
Astrocytoma
Metastatic site
Not applicable (primary intracranial tumor; no distant metastasis)
Synonyms
U-138MG, U-138-MG, U138-MG, U 138 MG, U138MG, U138, 138 MG, 138MG

Documents

U-138 MG

Cell line · Product number 300363

This is one of a number of cell lines derived from malignant gliomas, e.g. U-87-MG, U-118-MG and U-373-MG isolated by J. Ponten and associates from 1966 to 1...

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Customization / Recommendations

In stock
Lot
Recommended (freshest lot)
  • CoA
1

01General information

Description
This is one of a number of cell lines derived from malignant gliomas, e.g. U-87-MG, U-118-MG and U-373-MG isolated by J. Ponten and associates from 1966 to 1969. It differs from U-87-MG in morphology and it has a slower proliferation rate. U-138-MG shows strong similarity to U-118-MG, sharing at least six derivative marker chromosomes.
Tissue
Brain
Disease
Astrocytoma
Metastatic site
Not applicable (primary intracranial tumor; no distant metastasis)
Applications
Glioblastoma/astrocytoma research; glial tumor biology; radiation sensitivity; chemotherapy evaluation; comparison with U-118 MG (shared marker chromosomes); NF-κB and EGFR pathway studies
Synonyms
  • U-138MG
  • U-138-MG
  • U138-MG
  • U 138 MG
  • U138MG
  • U138
  • 138 MG
  • 138MG

02Classification

Organism
Human
Sex
Male
Growth properties
Adherent
GMO status
Non-GMO
GMO status details
No genetic modification; wildtype glioma cell line isolated by J. Ponten et al. (1966–1969)
Biosafety level
1

03Characteristics

Morphology
Polygonal
Cell type
Glial cells (astrocytic)
Karyotype
Hyperdiploid to pentaploid with several markers, the stemline chromosome number is near triploid with the 2S component occurring at 9.8%. Five markers [t(11,5), t(8q,4), t(19,?18), M1 and M2] were common to most S metaphases. One chromosome 4 could be found in every S metaphase. Chromosome composition was very uniform among cells. Phenotype Frequency Product: 0.0511
Doubling time
approx. 48 to 72 hours (slower proliferation rate than U-118 MG)

04Identifiers

Citation
U-138 MG (Cytion catalog number 300363)
NCBI TaxID
9606
Cellosaurus
CVCL_0020

05Expression and susceptibility

Antigen expression
Blood Type A, Rh+
Isoenzymes
Me-2, 1, PGM1, 1, PGM3, 1, ES-D, 1, AK-1, 1, GLO-1, 1-2, G6PD, B,

06Handling and culture

Culture medium
DMEM, w: 4.5 g/L Glucose, w: 4 mM L-Glutamine, w: 3.7 g/L NaHCO3, w: 1.0 mM Sodium pyruvate (Cytion article number 820300a)
Incubation atmosphere

37°C, 5% CO2, humidified atmosphere.

Supplements
Supplement the medium with 10% FBS
Dissociation reagent
Accutase
Subculturing
Remove the old medium from the adherent cells and wash them with PBS that lacks calcium and magnesium. For T25 flasks, use 3-5 ml of PBS, and for T75 flasks, use 5-10 ml. Then, cover the cells completely with Accutase, using 1-2 ml for T25 flasks and 2.5 ml for T75 flasks. Let the cells incubate at room temperature for 8-10 minutes to detach them. After incubation, gently mix the cells with 10 ml of medium to resuspend them, then centrifuge at 300xg for 3 minutes. Discard the supernatant, resuspend the cells in fresh medium, and transfer them into new flasks that already contain fresh medium.
Split ratio
1 to 3
Seeding density
1 x 104 cells/cm2
Fluid renewal
2 to 3 times per week
Post-thaw recovery
After thawing, plate the cells at 5 × 10⁴ cells/cm² and allow at least 24 hours for adherence before the first medium change.
Thawing and culturing

  1. Confirm that the vial remains deeply frozen upon delivery, as cells are shipped on dry ice to maintain optimal temperatures during transit.

  2. Upon receipt, either store the cryovial immediately at temperatures below -150°C to ensure the preservation of cellular integrity, or proceed to step 3 if immediate culturing is required.

  3. For immediate culturing, swiftly thaw the vial by immersing it in a 37°C water bath with clean water and an antimicrobial agent, agitating gently for 40-60 seconds until a small ice clump remains.

  4. Perform all subsequent steps under sterile conditions in a flow hood, disinfecting the cryovial with 70% ethanol before opening.

  5. Carefully open the disinfected vial and transfer the cell suspension into a 15 ml centrifuge tube containing 8 ml of room-temperature culture medium, mixing gently.

  6. Centrifuge the mixture at 300 x g for 3 minutes to separate the cells and carefully discard the supernatant containing residual freezing medium.

  7. Gently resuspend the cell pellet in 10 ml of fresh culture medium. For adherent cells, divide the suspension between two T25 culture flasks; for suspension cultures, transfer all the medium into one T25 flask to promote effective cell interaction and growth.

  8. Adhere to established subculture protocols for continued growth and maintenance of the cell line, ensuring reliable experimental outcomes.

07Quality control and cryopreservation

Sterility

Mycoplasma contamination is excluded using both PCR-based assays and luminescence-based mycoplasma detection methods.

To ensure there is no bacterial, fungal, or yeast contamination, cell cultures are subjected to daily visual inspections.

Freeze medium
As a cryopreservation medium, we use 50% basal medium + 40% FBS + 10% DMSO, or CM-1 (Cytion catalog number 800100), which includes optimized osmoprotectants and metabolic stabilizers to enhance recovery and reduce cryo-induced stress.
Storage conditions

For long-term preservation, place vials in vapor-phase liquid nitrogen at about −150 to −196 °C. Storage at −80 °C is acceptable only as a short interim step before transfer to liquid nitrogen.

Shipping conditions

Cryopreserved cell lines are shipped on dry ice in validated, insulated packaging with sufficient refrigerant to maintain approximately −78 °C throughout transit. On receipt, inspect the container immediately and transfer vials without delay to appropriate storage.

08Donor

Donor age
47 years
Ethnicity
Caucasian