PC12 cells
PC12 is a cell line derived from a pheochromocytoma of the rat adrenal medulla, that have an embryonic origin from the neural crest that has a mixture of neuroblastic cells and eosinophilic cells.
This cell line was first cultured by Greene and Tischler in 1976. It was developed in parallel to the adrenal chromaffin cell model because of its extreme versatility for pharmacological manipulation, ease of culture, and the large amount of information on their proliferation and differentiation. These qualities provide advantage even though they have smaller vesicles and quantal size, holding only an average of 1.9x10−19 moles of neurotransmitter released. The vesicles hold catecholamines, mostly dopamine but also limited amount of norepinephrine, and release of these neurotransmitters give rise to spikes due to changes in current similar to chromaffin cells.
PC12 cell line use has given much information to the function of proteins underlying vesicle fusion. Used to understand the role of synaptotagmin in vesicle fusion, in which increase in calcium concentration displaces synaptotagmin and catalyzes membrane fusion.
Their embryological origin with neuroblastic cells means they can easily differentiate into neuron-like cells even though they are not considered adult neurons. Neuron-like means they share properties similar to neurons, in this case it is referring to releasing neurotransmitter by vesicles. PC12 cells stop dividing and terminally differentiate when treated with nerve growth factor or dexamethasone. This makes PC12 cells useful as a model system for neuronal differentiation and neurosecretion.
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