FAQ's

 PC-12Adh, ATCC® CRL-1721.1 ™ is an adherent variant of PC-12. Its official designation is "PC-12 Adh". These cells exhibit the well-attached adherent phenotype. They were isolated after repeated exposure to Corning's CellBIND flasks (Corning Catalog#3289 through 3293), and exhibit an increased growth rate when compared to the traditional PC-12 cells that grow in suspension (ATCC® CRL-1721 ™, PC-12). ATCC has not tested CRL-1721.1 cells for differentiation potential in response to Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) treatment.

PC-12Adh, ATCC® CRL-1721.1 ™ cells are grown in ATCC-formulated F12K media (ATCC Cat. No. 30-2004) with 2.5% non-heat inactivated FBS and 15% non-heat inactivated horse serum.  When cultured on the CellBIND flasks, these cells exhibit a heterogeneous mixture of small epithelial-shaped cells, some stellate shaped cells, some elongated cells and some rounded but attached cells.

The original PC-12 cells (ATCC® CRL-1721 ™) have never been exposed to Corning's CellBIND flasks and retain a high differentiation potential in response to NGF treatment.

PC-12, ATCC® CRL-1721 ™ cells are grown in ATCC-formulated RPMI-1640 media (ATCC® 30-2001 ™) with 5% non-heat inactivated FBS (ATCC® 30-2020 ™) and 10% heat inactivated horse serum.  The PC-12 cells grow as small, irregularly shaped cells, loosely adherent or as multi-cell aggregates floating in the growth media.  They have a tendency to aggregate and adhere poorly to non-coated surfaces. The clusters may be dispersed by gentle aspiration with a syringe and 22g needle and a 20ml Luer-Lok Tip syringe 4-5 times when initiating or expanding the culture.  Collagen IV is only used when testing for neurite formation. 

ATCC has performed QC tests on seed stocks of CRL-1721 cells for neurite outgrowth in response to NGF treatment. Cells are seeded at 5 x 10³ cell/cm², 2.5 x 10³ cells/cm² and 1.25 x 10³ cells/cm² on Corning® BioCoat™ Collagen IV 6-well plates (Cat No. 354428) and incubated for 3 days to allow for cell attachment.  On day 3, the culture media is replaced with the test medium, consisting of the complete growth media supplemented with a final concentration of 0.2 ug/ml final concentration of NGF.  Neurites begin to form within 3 to 4 days after initial treatment.