OK cells (short for opossum kidney cells) are a marsupial

cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cell ...

used in medical research to model

proximal tubule The proximal tubule is the segment of the nephron in kidneys which begins from the renal pole of the Bowman's capsule to the beginning of loop of Henle. It can be further classified into the proximal convoluted tubule (PCT) and the proximal straig ...

epithelial cells of the

kidney The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...

Characteristics

The cell line was derived from the kidney of an adult female

North American opossum The Virginia opossum (''Didelphis virginiana''), also known as the North American opossum, is the only opossum living north of Mexico, its range extending south into Central America. It is the northernmost marsupial in the world. In the United ...

(''Didelphis virginiana''). Like porcine LLC-PK1 cells, this cell line has the limitation of lacking several

enzymes Enzymes () are proteins that act as biological catalysts by accelerating chemical reactions. The molecules upon which enzymes may act are called substrate (chemistry), substrates, and the enzyme converts the substrates into different molecule ...

specific to the proximal tubule. Nonetheless, OK cells have been used extensively to study functional interactions between the

parathyroid hormone 1 receptor Parathyroid hormone/parathyroid hormone-related peptide receptor, also known as parathyroid hormone 1 receptor (PTH1R), is a protein that in humans is encoded by the ''PTH1R'' gene. PTH1R functions as a receptor for parathyroid hormone ( PTH) and f ...

(PTH1R) and the sodium-hydrogen exchange regulatory factor 1 (NHERF1).

Use in research

OK cells were originally cultured as a source of X chromosomes for studies on

X inactivation X-inactivation (also called Lyonization, after English geneticist Mary Lyon) is a process by which one of the copies of the X chromosome is inactivated in therian female mammals. The inactive X chromosome is silenced by being packaged into a ...

. They have also served as models for the study of renal dopaminergic physiology, owing to their capacity to produce and degrade

dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic compound, organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. Dopamine const ...

. OK cells are sold under the catalog number CRL-1840 by ATCC.

References

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External links

Opossum Kidney Cortex Proximal Tubule Epithelial Cells (OK Line)
Microscopy U. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
OK (ATCC® CRL-1840™)
ATCC. Retrieved February 15, 2015.
Cellosaurus entry for OK
Marsupial cell lines * Kidney