Caco2 differentiation criteria - (Oct/31/2005 )

Hello,
I am working with Caco2 cell line and I am confused about the conditions of differentiation. I know that after 15 days of culture these cells form a monolayer and are considered as differentiated. However I´ve noticed that if I plate them at high density they form a monolayer even at the second day of culture, so are these cells differentiated?

I am not 100% sure of this, I will check with my collegues when they come back tomorrow, but I think that the cells you plate on day 1 are confluent by day 3 and then differentiate for the next 12 days... i think the 15d you are looking at for full differentiation is counted "after confluence"... I will double check for you tomorrow...

Hi again, okay I am now 100% sure, caco-2 cells differentiate for 15 days post-confluence so it doesn't really matter so much how you plate them as long as it is the same for all your experiements, and then you start counting from the time the cells become confluent....


Caco-2 cells differentiate over time if the cells are maintained without passaging for five to fifteen days. The differentiation process is dependent on cell-cell interactions, and is progressive, continuing in confluent cultures for at least 14 days...