MLg

MLg is an immortalized mouse lung fibroblast cell line that has been commonly utilized as a non-transformed stromal/mesenchymal cell model in cell biology, pulmonary research, and extracellular matrix studies. Isolated from the lung of a young C3H/He mouse, MLg cells display typical fibroblast morphology characterized by an elongated spindle-shape with a propensity for adherent growth on tissue culture plastic. MLg cells propagate as a mostly homogenous monolayer of cells with an intermediate doubling time when maintained under conventional cell culture conditions (e.g. DMEM supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum) and express canonical fibroblast markers such as vimentin and fibroblast surface protein (FSP) without evidence of epithelial or endothelial cell marker expression. For these reasons MLg cells have been used to study cell-matrix interactions, mechano-transduction, fibroblast proliferation and differentiation, and stromal-epithelial communication using co-culture models.

MLg cells have been used in numerous pulmonary fibrosis, wound healing, and respiratory toxicology studies, where researchers have investigated fibroblast activation/myofibroblast trans-differentiation, collagen/elastin production, and responsiveness to profibrotic cytokines such as TGF-β1. MLg cells have also been used to study extracellular matrix remodeling, cellular senescence, oxidative stress, and numerous mesenchymal signal transduction pathways (e.g., MAPK, PI3K/AKT).