S2 Cell Line

Brief Introduction
Product List

General Information
Organism	Drosophila melanogaster, fruit fly
Cell Line Description	S2 is a classic and versatile insect cell line established by Dr. Imogene Schneider in 1972. This cell line is isolated from late-stage (20 to 24 hours) Drosophila melanogaster embryos. S2 cells exhibit macrophage-like or lymphoblast-like morphology, reflecting their embryonic hematopoietic lineage. S2 cells primarily grow as suspension or weakly adherent monolayers and are internationally recognized as the preferred non-mammalian host system for heterologous gene expression and structural biology research. They can expand to extremely high cell densities at room temperature without requiring special carbon dioxide environmental control. S2 cells are also a cornerstone model for high-throughput RNA interference (RNAi) screening, insect innate immunity research, and arbovirus host-pathogen interaction studies.
Tissue	Embryo
Cell Type	Hemocyte (Insect macrophage-like cell)
Disease	None (Normal embryonic tissue origin)
Morphology	Lymphoblast-like / Macrophage-like; small, round, individual cells
Gender	Male (confirmed via cytogenetic identification of XY chromosomal architecture)
Age	20 to 24-hour-old embryo
Product Format	Frozen
Growth Mode	Semi-adherent / Suspension (cells form a loose monolayer that can be easily dislodged or maintained in complete orbital suspension)
Biosafety Level	1 (Biosafety classification is based on U.S. Public Health Service Guidelines)
Applications	1. High-yield heterologous recombinant protein expression (Drosophila expression system/DES) 2. High-throughput RNA interference (RNAi) screening for functional genomics 3. Elucidating evolutionary conserved pathways of innate immunity and hematopoiesis in insects 4. Mapping host-pathogen interactions between arboviruses and intracellular bacteria 5. Mapping biochemical aspects of chromatin structure, transcription mechanisms, and RNA processing mechanisms
Shipped In	Dry ice
Storage Temperature	−196°C (Liquid nitrogen vapor phase)
Characteristics
Tumorigenic	No, non-tumorigenic under standard physiological environments
Karyotype	Aneuploid/polyploid; chromosome structure is highly rearranged and variable. It has a male (XY) genotype baseline but typically exhibits multiple structural abnormalities and chromosome counting biases, characteristic of long-term insect cell lines.
Phagocytic Activity	Retains ancestral hemocyte functionality, demonstrating robust phagocytosis of bacteria and apoptotic bodies in vitro.
Growth Kinetics	Highly proliferative; at the optimal room temperature (25°C to 28°C), the doubling time is typically 24 to 30 hours.
Mycoplasma Test	Negative
Culture Conditions and Handling
Subculturing	1. S2 cells are semi-adherent cells; most cells are suspended in the culture dish, while adherent cells have weaker adhesion. Do not use trypsin or enzymatic digestion reagents, as they will disrupt the receptor proteins on the cell surface. 2. To collect adherent cells, gently scrape them from the plastic surface using a sterile cell scraper, or forcefully blow the supernatant across the monolayer of cells using a pipette. 3. Collect all cell suspension and transfer it to conical centrifuge tubes. 4. Centrifuge at approximately 100-200 × g for 5 to 10 minutes. 5. Discard the supernatant, resuspend the cell pellet evenly in preheated fresh culture medium, and then aliquot into new culture dishes. 6. Strictly control the seeding density between 2 × 10⁶ and 5 × 10⁶ cells/mL. Do not allow the culture to overgrow beyond 2 × 10^7 cells/mL.
Medium Renewal	2 to 3 times per week (or whenever medium turns yellow due to dense cell metabolism)
Subcultivation Ratio	A split ratio of 1:2 to 1:4 is recommended for routine flask maintenance.
Culture Conditions	Atmosphere: 100% air (strictly speaking, a sealed or ventilated environment without carbon dioxide); Temperature: 25°C to 28°C (Note: If cultured at the standard mammalian temperature of 37°C, the cells will undergo heat shock and die).
Cryopreservation	45% Schneider's Medium + 45% FBS + 10% DMSO

Cat.No.	Product Name	Price
CSC-RO02578	Cas9 Stable Cell Line - S2	Inquiry
CSC-RR00915	GFP Reporter Cell Line - S2	Inquiry
CSC-RR00970	Luciferase Reporter Cell Line - S2	Inquiry

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* For research use only. Not intended for any clinical use.

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