Role and relevance of fish cell lines in advanced in vitro research

Abstract

Introduction Cell line derived from fish has been established as a promising tool for studying many key issues of aquaculture covering fish growth, disease, reproduction, genetics, and biotechnology. In addition, fish cell lines are very useful in vitro models for toxicological, pathological, and immunological studies. The easier maintenance of fish cell lines in flexible temperature regimes and hypoxic conditions make them preferable in vitro tools over mammalian cell lines. Great excitement has been observed in establishing and characterizing new fish cell lines representing diverse fish species and tissue types. The well-characterized and authenticated cell lines are of utmost essential as these represent cellular functions very similar to in vivo state of an organism otherwise it would affect the reproducibility of scientific research. Conclusion The fish cell lines have exhibited encouraging results in several key aspects of in vitro research in aquaculture including virology, nutrition and metabolism, production of vaccines, and transgenic fish production. The review paper reports the cell lines developed from fish, their characterization, and biobanking along with their potential applications and challenges in in vitro research.

Establishment of an in vitro model from the vulnerable fish species Coregonus maraena (maraena whitefish): Optimization of growth conditions and characterization of the cell line

“…The unhindered growth of fish cell lines is caused by the high telomerase activity of adult fishes (Lund et al, 2009). Unlike mammalian cells, for fish cells, it could be shown, that these cells seem to immortalize spontaneously without any treatment (Bols et al, 2005; Goswami et al, 2022). This leads to unlimited use under perfect cultivation conditions.…”

Assessing Fish Immunotoxicity by Means of In Vitro Assays: Are We There Yet?

“…While Fryer and Lannan ( 84 ) listed 152 fish cell lines, Lakra et al ( 85 ) identified 283 cell lines, and these numbers keep increasing. Fish cell lines have been frequently used for the diagnosis of fish diseases as well as to study immunological responses [e.g., ( 54 , 86 , 87 )]. Table 1 lists examples of cell lines derived from fish immune tissues including cell lines for which immunological functions have been demonstrated and cell lines for which no such characterization is available.…”

Comparative Transcriptomics in Atlantic Salmon Head Kidney and SHK-1 Cell Line Exposed to the Sea Louse Cr-Cathepsin

“…In recent years, fish cell culture has emerged as a promising in vitro model for toxicity, immunological studies, and disease diagnostics [ 16 ]. The particularities of fish cell lines, such as ease of maintenance, culture conditions, and the feasible reproducibility of the research, make this a perfect model for in vitro evaluation.…”

“…Several fish immune response studies have used fish cell lines derived from macrophages and leukocytes. Furthermore, studies have used fish cell lines to evaluate the immune response against antigens and establish a correlation with in vivo vaccine trials [ 16 ]. For instance, recombinant proteins and synthetic peptides from rhabdoviral hemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV) were evaluated as vaccines in suspensions of trout blood leukocytes and lymphoid organs cultures, showing an increase in leukocyte proliferation and recognition by anti-VHSV Mab.…”