Each Retinal Cell Line (R28) Cytospin contains approximately 500-1,000 cells fixed to a microscope slide. These convenient cytospins can immediately be used for experiments instead of taking the time to grow the actual R28 cells (e.g. to quickly and easily check and see if the cells have a particular gene of interest). The cytospins are compatible with standard immunocytochemistry techniques or in situ hybridization.The R28 cells were developed from ABI-TC043D parental cell line through three rounds of limiting dilution and were therefore derived from a single cell. Despite their clonal origin, these cells display both glial and neuronal cell markers indicative of a retinal precursor cell. The parental line ABI-TC043D was established by immortalization of postnatal day 6 rat neuroretinal tissue using the psi2 replication incompetent retroviral vector. As a result, these cells are already resistant to geneticin/G418 and would require an alternative selection marker for transfection studies. These cells were designed not to form tumors in animals.
