December 1, 2009 - ZenBio announce that they will be a commercial source for the popular murine 3T3-L1 cell line, which has been fundamental in metabolic disease research for 30 years. Originally derived from Swiss mouse embryo tissue by Dr. Howard Green of the Department of Cell Biology at Harvard Medical School, the 3T3-L1 system has been pivotal in advancing the understanding of basic cellular mechanisms associated with diabetes, obesity and other related disorders.3T3-L1 is a cell line derived from 3T3 cells that is used extensively in research on adipose tissue, making the line popular for metabolic disease research studies. 3T3-L1 cells have a morphology that resembles fibroblasts, but under the right conditions the cells will differentiate into a phenotype that mimics the behavior of adipocytes. The 3T3-L1 in vitro system has proven a highly useful complement to primary human adipocyte cultures, and has been used extensively by scientists to unlock many of the mysteries of metabolic diseases. The 3T3-L1 cell line is recognized as a very well-characterized, consistent in vitro system, and has served as the basis for a wide range of published studies... [PDF] ZenBio's Press Release -
