Growing human cells in the lab, a cornerstone of modern biology and medicine, is often called “cell culture.” This controlled study of human cells enables our understanding of the human body, aids in tackling diseases, and fosters medical innovation. The global human primary cell culture market size was estimated at USD 3.86 billion in 2024 and is projected to reach USD 4.24 billion by 2025. The market is expected to witness a CAGR of 11.05% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 7.15 billion by 2030. The primary cells segment dominated the market with a share of 36.35% in 2024.
What is Cell Culture and Why is it Important?
Scientists employ cell culture to closely examine the body at a cellular level, simulate diseases for study and treatment progression, and develop and test medicines without jeopardizing human lives. Approximately 40.5% of individuals are expected to be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime, emphasizing the need for precise in vitro models like human primary cell cultures.
Historical Context
This practice traces back to Ross G. Harrison’s work in 1907, when he first cultured nerve cells. Fast forward to modern times, facilitated techniques like Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) have seen popularity. iPSCs have been instrumental in biomedical research, allowing for the creation of patient-specific cells for drug testing and disease modeling.
How it Works:
- Researchers isolate specific types of cells, cultivating them in a nutrient-rich solution called culture media.
- The environment simulates conditions within the human body.
- Notable stem cells involved include embryonic stem cells (that differentiate into any cell type), adult stem cells (restricted to multiple but not all cell types), and iPSCs (reprogrammed adult cells behaving like embryonic stem cells).
Applications: Why Do Scientists Need Lab-Grown Human Cells?
Disease Modeling
Scientists replicate diseases in cultured cells to understand their initiation, progression, cellular responses including those to disorders like cancer, Alzheimer’s, and viral infections. Lab-grown cells are ideal for studying genetic diseases by inducing specific mutations or studying infectious diseases by infecting cells with pathogens.
Example:
Researchers infect lung cells with a respiratory virus to inspect how the disease proliferates.
Drug Development
Cultured human cells allow safe and efficient drug testing before clinical trials. This process assesses potential drug toxicity and effectiveness, thus reducing reliance on animal trials.
Personalized Medicine
iPSCs create patient-specific cells for drug testing, minimizing the chance of adverse reactions. They are also used for toxicity testing of chemicals and environmental pollutants.
How Scientists Grow Human Cells
Sourcing the Cells: Cells are obtained directly from human tissues (like skin or blood) and are also derived from stem cells.
The Growth Process: Cells are placed in culture dishes, nourished with specific growth factors in a sterile lab, under conditions mirroring those within the human body. To avoid overcrowding, cells are split periodically, a process known as subculture, and transferred to fresh dishes.
Growing 3D Tissues: The Era of Organoids
What are Organoids?
Organoids, miniature 3D models of human organs grown in labs, simulate the structure and function of organs thanks to self-organizing stem cells. Organoids have been used to simulate the structure and function of organs, aiding in the study of diseases and drug responses.
Complexity and Maturity
While organoids can accurately model organs, current limitations including their inability to fully replicate the complexity and maturity of natural organs still persist.
Examples and Applications
- Mini-Brains (Brain Organoids) help understand disorders like autism and Alzheimer’s.
- Mini-Hearts provide insights into arrhythmias, heart defects, and cardiac drug responses.
- Intestine-derived Mini-Guts aid in studying gastrointestinal diseases and treatments for conditions like Crohn’s disease.
- Liver-based Mini-Livers enable study of liver diseases and hepatotoxicity of drugs.
How Does This Help Medicine?
Regenerative Medicine
Regenerative medicine, such as tissue engineering, uses lab-grown cells to create functional tissue substitutes like skin grafts for burn victims and corneal implants for transplantation. Regenerative medicine uses lab-grown cells for functional tissue substitutes, reflecting a significant advancement in tissue engineering.
Personalized Therapy
Therapies with lesser side effects could be crafted, leveraging iPSCs derived from a patient’s own tissues aligning closely with their biology.
Gene Therapy
There’s increasing potential of deploying lab-grown cells for gene therapy, correcting genetic defects in cells before they are transplanted back into the patient.
Ethical and Technical Challenges
Ethical Concerns: Potential ethical issues include the use of fetal tissues and genetic manipulation. iPSCs serve as an ethical workaround as they avoid the use of embryos. Other concerns involve informed consent when using human tissues for cell culture and creating animal-human chimeras.
Technical Barriers: Technical barriers involve mimicking the complexity of organs/tissues in the lab, scalability of cell or organoid production, maintaining sterility, ensuring lab-grown cells are immune-compatible with the recipient, and managing associated costs.
Future Outlook: Where is This Going?
Advancing Precision Medicine
The integration of CRISPR technology for gene editing and bioengineering can create more accurate disease models with lab-grown cells. This fosters advancements in personalized medical approaches.
Clinical Trials
Several ongoing or completed clinical trials use lab-grown cells, for instance, those investigating Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and heart conditions. The ultimate aim is to cultivate fully functional organs for transplantation. Imagine a world where scientists regenerate damaged heart tissue post a heart attack or grow a fully functioning kidney for patients in need!
The U.S. human primary cell culture market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10.3% from 2025 to 2030, reaching USD 2,579.0 million by 2030. Europe’s human primary cell culture market has shown significant development in the past few years, with notable contributions from the UK and France due to rising investments in stem cell research and pharmaceutical R&D. The Asia Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing region over the forecast period, with a CAGR of 12.21%, driven by the increasing number of cancer patients and the rising prevalence of chronic diseases.
Where Can You Learn More and Why This Matters
Interest in this field can be fueled by academic journals, medical research institutes, documentaries, reputable sources like the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the European Society for Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE), and peer-reviewed journals such as Nature and Science.
The research matters because it eliminates the need for unsafe human or animal testing and offers unprecedented ways to combat diseases that have plagued humanity for centuries. Moreover, it impacts broader societal implications like potential reduction in healthcare costs through more effective treatments, all while tackling ethical concerns.
In sum, growing human cells in the lab isn’t just about answering scientific questions—it’s about transforming health and medicine. From modeling diseases to testing new treatments and addressing ethical dilemmas, this rapidly evolving field holds the key to a healthier future for everyone.