HEPES is a buffer reagent for cell culture. Its buffer range is between 6.8 and 8.2. In open cell culture conditions, its PH value is often affected by the outside world. If HEPES buffer is added, that is It can prevent the pH from oxidizing in the medium from rising, so HEPES buffer is often indispensable in the cell culture process. In addition, it is also widely used in the uptake of organic molecules, changes in oxidative stress mechanisms, or suppression of ions.
Compared with bicarbonate, HEPE buffer has higher solubility and more stable, and has the least complex with metal ions. It is proved that HEPES can be responsible for major changes in biotechnology, such as the absorption of organic molecules. There are several molecular mechanisms for oxidative stress and ion channel inhibition.
Prion, also known as prion, protein infecting factor, prion or infectious protein, is a small molecule non-immune hydrophobic protein that can infect animals and replicate in host cells. In the process of pursuing prion gene therapy in our laboratory, we used HEK 293T supernatant prion containing related proteins to infect lentivirus on cells. In control experiments, it was observed that irrelevant lentivirus or culture medium was used alone A significant inhibitory effect on the accumulation of abnormal subtypes of prion protein (PrPSc) was finally confirmed to be related to the presence of HEPE in the medium.
When using cell culture medium supplemented with HEPES on prion-infected cells, there is a significant concentration-dependently inhibited accumulation of prion protein abnormal subtypes (PrPSc). This effect only exists in living cells and has not been confirmed to be related to changes in the PrP environment or biology. This inhibitory effect of HEPES can also be used to prevent the contamination or reproduction of prions in cell culture.