The effect of cell passage number on osteogenic and adipogenic characteristics of D1 cells.

Cell line passage number is an important consideration when designing an experiment. At higher passages, it is generally understood that cell health begins to decline and, when this occurs, the result can be variable data. However, there are no specific guidelines regarding optimal passage range, and this information is dependent on cell type. To explore these variabilities, low passage D1 cells were thawed (passage 3) and passaged serially until a much higher number (passage 34). Samples were taken every five passages and analyzed for alkaline phosphatase and triglyceride; also, the gene expression of both adipogenic and osteogenic markers was tested. The results indicate that the growth rate of these cells did slow down after passage 30. However, expression of the osteogenic characteristics seemed to cycle, with the highest levels seen at passage 4 and 24. The adipocyte expression levels remained the same throughout the study.