Human Epidermal Keratinocyte

Description: Human Epidermal Keratinocytes (HEKs) are primary epithelial cells isolated from the epidermis of human skin, typically obtained from neonatal foreskin or adult skin tissue. These cells represent the predominant cell type of the epidermis and are responsible for the formation, maintenance, and regeneration of the stratified squamous epithelium. In vitro, HEKs display a characteristic cobblestone morphology when cultured under low-calcium conditions that support a proliferative, basal-like state. Upon calcium elevation or differentiation-inducing conditions, they undergo a well-defined program of stratification and terminal differentiation, recapitulating key aspects of epidermal development. Because HEKs maintain many physiological characteristics of native epidermis, they are widely used in 2D monolayer cultures as well as in advanced 3D organotypic skin equivalents that reproduce epidermal stratification and barrier formation. As primary cells, they have a finite lifespan and limited proliferative capacity, and their phenotype can vary depending on donor source and culture conditions. Therefore, careful control of passage number and differentiation state is essential for experimental reproducibility and for modeling normal skin biology and dermatological disease processes. Organism: Human. Tissue: Skin, Epidermis. Disease: Normal. Applications: Toxicology, wound repair, skin cancer, response to UV radiation, psoriasis, eczema, viral infection, gene delivery systems, cellular differentiation, cosmetics research/testing. Age: Adult. Gender: Lot-specific. Ethnicity: Lot-specific. Morphology: Cobblestone appearance, cells are rounded, not flat, cells display a high mitotic index, at near 80% confluence, the cells will be associated with each other in colonies. Cell type: keratinocyte. Growth properties: adherent. Biosafety level: 1. NCBI_TaxID: 9606. Sterility: Mycoplasma contamination is excluded using both PCR-based assays and luminescence-based mycoplasma detection methods. To ensure there is no bacterial, fungal, or yeast contamination, cell cultures are subjected to daily visual inspections. Material Transfer Agreement: If you intend to use Cytion cell lines solely for internal research at a single research site, please complete and sign our Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) and submit it along with your order. For any commercial applications - including but not limited to fee-for-service work, quality control testing, product release, diagnostic use, or regulatory studies - please complete the Intended Use Form so we can prepare a suitable agreement tailored to your project. Please note: The MTA applies only to certain cell lines. If this notice and the MTA document appear on a product page, the agreement is applicable. For cell lines not covered by the MTA, no reference to the agreement will be shown. The MTA is not valid for customers in the Americas, China, or Taiwan. Please contact our U.S. entity to receive the appropriate agreement.