cell line

American  

noun

Cell Biology.

1. a perpetuating strain of cells in laboratory culture.

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cell line British  

noun

1. biology a clone of animal or plant cells that can be grown in a suitable nutrient culture medium in the laboratory

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Etymology

Origin of cell line

First recorded in 1950–55

Example Sentences

The cell line, called "HeLa" after the patient's first and last name, was sent to research labs around the world.

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

The team's measurements with patient-derived vital tumor explants confirmed their findings from the cell line experiments.

From Science Daily • May 7, 2024

This type of stem cell, which the researchers derived from a federally approved stem cell line, can differentiate into almost any other cell type if provided the right proteins or other biochemical signals.

From Science Daily • Mar. 21, 2024

Using a human intestinal cell line in the lab, they were able to isolate receptor DRD2 as the one that had the protective effect against infection in the presence of tryptophan metabolites.

From Science Daily • Mar. 13, 2024

Leonard Hayflick had an especially personal connection with his cell line, WISH, which Gartler had listed as contaminated: he’d grown it using cells from the amniotic sac in which his unborn daughter had once floated.

From "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot