I'm adding a tag to a protein with crisprCas9 in order find its interactors and localization. I'm thinking to use HeLa cells but they have a strange karyotype..what type of cells would you use instead?
HeLa cells are wonderful tools for studying basic pathways that occur in all cells. Because they are cancer cells and have been growing in culture for 60 years now they are less suited to study the physiology of specific cell types.
It really depends on whether the pathway(s) that include your gene of interest are known to be functional in HeLa cells. As Engelbert Buxbaum stated above, HeLa cells might be fine to study a protein involved in pathways common to all cells but might not be fine to study a protein involved e.g. in synaptic transmission.
Cells that are not cancerous would be preferred. Like hepaRG. It is although not a primary cell but not a cancer cell either. And maintains close smilarities with primary cell
- Badges
- Science topic