Human Colonic Fibroblasts

The human colon, which is part of the large intestine is located in the lower gastrointestinal tract. The colon functions to remove water, nutrients, and electrolytes from the partially digested food material. Colonic fibroblasts (CoF) are important structural components of the colon and are implicated in a number of diseases including ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and colon cancer. The main functions of fibroblasts are to maintain the structural integrity of connective tissue and to aid in tissue repair and remodeling. CoF play a central role in wound healing, however, they can also become chronically active during inflammation of the colon. CoF can also affect the homeostasis of the colonic mucosa. During wound healing or during tumor development, fibroblasts can become activated and switch to a myofibroblast morphology and synthesize increased levels of extracellular matrix. The mechanisms that lead to this activation are not well understood, therefore, primary Human (HCoF) can be used to further study the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, and colon cancer.

HCoF from ScienCell Research Laboratories are isolated from human colon. HCoF are cryopreserved at passage one and delivered frozen. Each vial contains >5 x 10^5 cells in 1 ml volume. HCoF are characterized by their spindle morphology and immunofluorescence with antibody specific to fibronectin. HCoF are negative for HIV-1, HBV, HCV, mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, and fungi. HCoF are guaranteed to further expand for 15 population doublings under the conditions provided by ScienCell Research Laboratories.

Recommended Medium

It is recommended to use Fibroblast Medium (FM, Cat. #2301) for culturing HCoF in vitro.