Brain tissue removed from an albino house mouse (Mus musculus) with neuroblastoma was first used to establish the Neuro-2a cell line. These cells exhibit amoeboid and neuronal stem cell morphology, they also produce a bountiful amount of microtubular protein within the body. This cell line is good as a transfection host, as it is susceptible to the human polio virus 1, vesicular stomatitis virus and the herpes simplex virus. Altogen Biosystems manufactures a transfection reagent for Neuro-2a that meticulously targets the neuroblastoma cells for further research of carcinogenic brain tumors.
The Neuro-2a cell line was derived from the brain tissue of an albino mouse with a neuroblastoma. The cell line has been used extensively to study the formation of neuroblastomas and the resulting metastasis into bone tissues in children; the cell line is susceptible to viral infection and is consequentially an important model for investigating tumorigenesis in children after birth. With viruses such as poliovirus 1, vesicular stomatitis, and herpes simplex having the capability to be passed on to children during pregnancy, research with non-intrusive transfection reagents accompanying gene therapies can help elucidate cures to virus-caused cancers in children.