MEC-1 Culture
Introduction
We cultured MEC-1 cells without any treatment and monitored them for 21 days to assess cell growth, viability, and morphology. This allowed a better understanding of their cell cycle dynamics and overall behavior in culture, as well as documented morphological characteristics that will be important for downstream experimental analysis.
without treatment, over a period of 21 days. The number of viable and dead cells was measured every two days.
without treatment, over a period of 21 days. Cell density was monitored to assess proliferation every two days.
density every two days for 21 days and normalizing to the value at Day 1 - that is right after seeding).
and normalized to the initial measurement (Day 1 - that is right after seeding).
It was successfully maintained in both T-75 and T-25 flasks throughout the 21-day culture period. T75 flasks exhibited higher cell numbers, reaching up to approximately 2.8 × 10⁶ cells/ml, although with greater fluctuations compared to T-25, which showed more stable growth pattern. Cell viability remained consistently high, above 90% at all time points, indicating that cells preserved their health and proliferative capacity under both culture conditions. MEC-1 cells have a reported doubling time of 48 hours and as a result the observed fluctuations in cell density likely reflect differences in seeding density, flask volume, and handling rather than inherent growth limitations. Overall, both systems are suitable for long-term culture, with T-75 favoring higher expansion potential and T-25 offering greater stability.
Microscopic observation of non-treated MEC-1 cell morphology
Morphologically, cells were not affected throughout the culture period. No notable differences were observed between T-25 and T-75 flasks, either before or after passaging, and their appearance remained consistent with reference images from established databases for this cell line (DSMZ Cell Culture) 1. This confirms that the culture conditions did not alter the characteristic morphology of a MEC-1 cell.
Discussion
The comparable growth and viability profiles across T-25 and T-75 suggest that the culture conditions were consistent and did not induce stress or differentiation-related effects. The observed minor variations in cell density likely reflect differences in manual handling or local distribution of cells within the flasks rather than biological variability. This consistency validates the robustness of our culturing process and allows us to proceed confidently with subsequent experimental steps (e.g., transfection) using either setup, as both demonstrate equivalent baseline characteristics.