TLDR Type II porcine hair keratin supports cell growth but hinders cell differentiation.
The study purified type I and type II subunits of porcine hair keratin to assess their potential as cell culture substrates. Both subunits formed uniform films on culture plates and supported the proliferation of PC12 neural cells. However, the type II subunit significantly inhibited cell differentiation, affecting cell shape and neurite outgrowth, compared to the crude extract and type I subunit. While there were slight differences in cell differentiation between the subunits, cell proliferation was not affected.
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September 2013 in “Bioscience Biotechnology and Biochemistry” Type II porcine hair keratin supports cell growth but hinders cell differentiation.
