ABSTRACT
The evolution of cell culture in toxicology is similar to the development of in vivo toxicology studies in the way that it has moved from basic, descriptive toxicity studies to cutting-edge research using sophisticated analysis of cellular and molecular events. This progression in cell culture was facilitated by acceleration of several trends, including commitment of the toxicology community to using alternatives to animals, advances in molecular biology and cell signaling, and the expansion of commercial sources that provide tissue culture supplies and reagents. It was not so long ago that investigators who needed collagen-coated culture dishes would have to collect rat tails, extract the collagen, and coat and cure the dishes; now collagen-coated culture ware is commercially available. Much of the labor-intensive tissue culture housekeeping, including preparation of culture media and growth factors (Lincoln and Gabridge, 1998; Mather, 1998), sterilization of laboratory ware, testing for mycoplasma, and development of assays has shifted to the commercial sector, making cell culture a practical technique for most laboratories rather than the arcane art of tissue culturists.
