There are basically two types of cell cultures: (a) primary cell cultures and (b) continuous cell lines. Primary cells are directly isolated from a subject that have limited lifespan, whereas continuous cell lines, also referred as established or immortalised, have acquired the ability to proliferate with infinite lifespan. There are several means to achieve the immortality of a cell line: tumor cells and undifferentiated cells are inherently immortal, otherwise normal cells can be immortalised (confer tumoral ability) adding foreign genes through a virus.
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