We are currently growing primary cells from cervical cancer biopsies and want to achieve a mixed population of cells- cancer cells and fibroblasts. The plan is to do either cell sorting or ICC to determine this, can anyone advise whether the primary cervical cancer cells will have strong expression of vimentin? As we are hoping to use vimentin as a marker for fibroblasts.
Thanks!
Hello Carla Fourie
The aberrant overexpression of vimentin has been linked to a more aggressive status in various tumors including cervical carcinoma.
Please refer to the articles attached below for more information.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/(SICI)1096-9896(199610)180:2%3C175::AID-PATH630%3E3.0.CO;2-G
Article The prognostic values of the expression of Vimentin, TP53, a...
Best.
Vimentin is an intermediate filament protein that is expressed in a variety of cell types, including fibroblasts. However, its expression is not limited to fibroblasts and is also found in various other cell types, including cancer cells. In cervical cancer, vimentin expression has been reported to be associated with more aggressive tumors and poorer prognosis. Therefore, it may not be the best marker to distinguish between cervical cancer cells and fibroblasts.
In primary cell cultures, it can be challenging to obtain a pure population of a single cell type. Cell sorting and ICC are both good methods to identify the cell types present in a mixed population. Cell sorting can be more accurate but may also be more time-consuming and expensive compared to ICC. You could also consider using other markers to identify the fibroblast population, such as FSP-1 or α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA).
- Badges
- Science topic