Cell cultures of and cells culturing method for nontransformed parotid cells

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for producing an expanded non-transformed cell culture comprising the steps of: (1) preparing partially purified, minced tissue; (2) concentrating the resulting cells and tissue pieces; (3) resuspending the concentrated tissue cells and pieces in a culture medium capable of supporting sustained cell division that is contained in a culture vessel; (4) incubating the cells; and (5) passaging the cells periodically. The present invention further provides clonal strains of cells derived from the above-mentioned cell culture, medium and conditioned medium designed for the culturing of parotid cells and other glandular cells such as pancreatic, thyroid, and parathyroid, and cells, and the use of cultured pancreatic cells to form pancreatic pseudotissues composed of matrix-embedded aggregated (pseudoislets) or individual cells, to treat blood sugar disorders in mammals, and to test for cytotoxicity and autoimmune activities with reference to pancreatic endocrine cells. The nontransformed cells are cultured in a growth medium comprising a suitable basal medium supplemented with effective concentrations of hypothalamus and pituitary extracts, and serum.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.