in vitro

(adjective)

In an artificial environment outside the living organism.

Related Terms

Examples of in vitro in the following topics:

  • In Vivo Testing

    • In vivo testing follows strict guidelines and humane animal use ethics.
    • Polyclonal antibodies have various applications in the clinic and in research laboratories.
    • In addition to having bodies that work similar to humans and other animals, rodents are small in size, easy to handle, relatively inexpensive to buy and keep, and produce many offspring in a short period of time.
    • In vivo testing remains a crucial step for the evaluation of in vitro experimental findings and the production of immunological solutions needed for the diagnosis of human diseases.
    • Animals are used in laboratory experiments to translate in vitro findings.

  • General Staining Methods

    • Staining is a technique used in microscopy to enhance contrast in a microscopic image.
    • In-vivo staining is the process of dyeing living tissue -- in vivo means "in life" (as contrasted to in-vitro staining).
    • In-vitro staining involves coloring cells or structures that have been removed from their biological context.
    • What follows here are some common aspects of the process of preparing for in-vitro staining.
    • In some cases, cells may be grown directly on a slide.

  • Ribosomes

    • Proteins synthesized in each of these locations serve a different role in the cell.
    • In prokaryotes, ribosomes can be found in the cytosol as well.
    • In most bacteria, the most numerous intracellular structure is the ribosome which is the site of protein synthesis in all living organisms.
    • However, the reconstitution intermediates are not the same as in vitro.
    • The intermediates in the in vivo assembly are precursor rRNA which is different from in vitro which uses matured rRNA.

  • Microarrays and the Transciptome

    • Analysis of the transcriptomes of human oocytes and embryos is used to understand the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways controlling early embryonic development, and could theoretically be a powerful tool in making proper embryo selection during in vitro fertilization.
    • The term can be applied to the total set of transcripts in a given organism, or to the specific subset of transcripts present in a particular cell type.
    • A number of organism-specific transcriptome databases have been constructed and annotated to aid in the identification of genes that are differentially expressed in distinct cell populations.
    • DNA microarrays can provide a genome-wide method for comparison of the abundance of DNAs in the same samples.The DNA in spots can only be PCR products specific for individual genes.
    • Analysis of the transcriptomes of human oocytes and embryos is used to understand the molecular mechanisms and signaling pathways controlling early embryonic development, and could theoretically be a powerful tool in making proper embryo selection during in vitro fertilization.

  • Primer Extension Analysis

    • Second, it can be used to quantify the amount of transcript in an in vitro transcription system.
    • Third, it can be used to determine the locations of breaks or modified bases in a mixed population of RNA or DNA samples.
    • This is useful in applications like footprinting.
    • In one, the modified nucleotide cannot be recognized by the polymerase or reverse transcriptase; in such cases, the chain ends at the site of modification.
    • In the other, the modification is converted in a later step of the analysis to a strand break by chemical treatment.

  • Cultivation of Specimen

    • It is also critical that the pathogen is isolated in a pure culture first.
    • In most cases, specimens are also inoculated into differential media that define such characteristics as fermentation patters (mannitol salt and MacConkey agar) and as reactions in blood (blood agar).
    • Serological testing uses in-vitro diagnostic testing of serum, has a high degree of specificity and sensitivity, and is based on the specificity an antibody has for its antigen.
    • Results of specimen analysis are entered in the patient's summary chart.
    • This blood is cultured in a bottle to detect bloodstream infections.

  • Recombinant DNA Technology

    • Molecular cloning permits the replication of a specific DNA sequence in a living microorganism.
    • The fundamental difference between the two methods is that molecular cloning involves replication of the DNA in a living microorganism, while PCR replicates DNA in an in vitro solution, free of living cells.
    • The creation of recombinant DNA is in many ways the simplest step of the molecular cloning process.
    • The DNA mixture, previously manipulated in vitro, is moved back into a living cell, referred to as the host organism.
    • The competent cells are grown in the presence of X-gal.

  • Shuttle Vectors and Expression Vectors

    • In general, DNA vectors that are used in many molecular-biology gene-cloning experiments need not result in the expression of a protein.
    • A shuttle vector is a vector that can propagate in two different host species, hence, inserted DNA can be tested or manipulated in two different cell types.
    • The main advantage of these vectors is that they can be manipulated in E. coli and then used in a system which is more difficult or slower to use.
    • Shuttle vectors can be used in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes.
    • They can also be used for in vitro experiments and modifications such as mutagenesis and PCR.

  • Regulatory T Cells

    • Regulatory T cells are a subset of T cells which modulate the immune system and keep immune reactions in check.
    • Regulatory T cells come in many forms, with the most well-understood being those that express CD4, CD25 , and Foxp3.
    • These cells are involved in shutting down immune responses after they have successfully eliminated invading organisms, and also in preventing autoimmunity.
    • CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells have been called "naturally-occurring" regulatory T cells, to distinguish them from "suppressor" T cell populations that are generated in vitro.
    • Acute depletion of the iTreg cell pool in mouse models has resulted in inflammation and weight loss.

  • Synthesizing DNA

    • PCR is covered in another atom.
    • Whereas enzymes synthesize DNA and RNA in a 5' to 3' direction, chemical oligonucleotide synthesis is carried out in the opposite, 3' to 5' direction.
    • Products are often isolated by HPLC to obtain the desired oligonucleotides in high purity.
    • Oligonucleotides find a variety of applications in molecular biology and medicine.
    • Artificial gene synthesis is the process of synthesizing a gene in vitro without the need for initial template DNA samples.