Built for diverse discovery workflows
Drug development & toxicology
Immortalized hepatocytes and kidney lines provide consistent, reproducible models for ADMET screening and hepatotoxicity studies without donor variability.
Disease modelling
Lines derived from disease-relevant tissues enable mechanistic studies and target validation in physiologically relevant contexts.
Beauty & personal care
Skin, dermal papilla, and hair follicle lines support cosmetic ingredient testing, hair growth research, and anti-ageing compound screening.
Cultivated meat & food tech
Bovine and avian muscle cell lines purpose-built for alternative protein and in vitro meat production research.
Veterinary & pet health
Feline, canine, and exotic species lines support companion animal disease research and veterinary drug discovery.
Allergy & immunology
Mast cell lines enable mechanistic allergy research and screening for anti-allergic compounds across IgE-mediated pathways.
Commercially proven, fully characterized, and ready for scale
The original commercial provider
The original provider of commercial cell immortalization recognized in a Science Journal technique report in 2014.
Quality-checked lines
Every line is passage-verified with STR profiling, mycoplasma testing, and morphology documentation.
600+ lines across species
Spanning human, mouse, rat, bat, dolphin, feline, bovine, and more across 50+ tissue types.
Can't find your line?
Our team immortalizes primary cells to order for any species and any tissue.
What are immortalized cell lines?
Immortalized cell lines are cells that have been engineered or selected to proliferate indefinitely in culture, bypassing the natural Hayflick limit that restricts normal somatic cells to a finite number of divisions. In their natural state, primary cells undergo replicative senescence due to progressive telomere shortening and activation of cell cycle checkpoints. The number of population doublings before senescence varies by cell type, with diploid fibroblasts undergoing approximately 40-60 doublings (the Hayflick Limit), while other primary cell types may senesce considerably earlier. Immortalization disrupts these checkpoints, allowing sustained, unlimited growth while preserving key cell-type-specific characteristics.
The result is a stable, renewable, and genetically consistent cell population that can be expanded, banked, and shared across experiments and laboratories, making them the workhorse of modern cell biology, drug discovery, and biotechnology manufacturing.
Common immortalization methods
Several established strategies are used to immortalize primary cells, each with distinct mechanisms, strengths, and trade-offs. The choice of method depends on the cell type, intended application, and whether the resulting line needs to retain differentiated function.
hTERT overexpression
Introduces the catalytic subunit of human telomerase, extending telomeres and preventing replicative senescence. This approach can support near-normal karyotype and retention of differentiated function when the cell type and workflow are compatible.
Minimal genomic disruptionSV40 Large T antigen
Inactivates p53 and Rb tumour suppressors, efficiently bypassing both the G1/S checkpoint and telomere-dependent senescence. Highly effective across many cell types, though may alter phenotype with extended passage.
Broadly applicableViral oncogenes (HPV E6/E7)
HPV-derived E6 and E7 proteins degrade p53 and inactivate Rb respectively. Particularly effective for epithelial cell immortalization, underpinning many widely used cervical and keratinocyte-derived lines.
Epithelial specialistMyc & Ras oncogenes
Constitutively active Myc or Ras drive cell cycle entry and suppress apoptosis. Often used in combination with other immortalizing elements; more commonly associated with transformation than immortalization alone.
Combination approachConditional immortalization
Immortalizing transgenes placed under inducible promoter control, such as temperature-sensitive or Cre/lox systems, allow proliferation to be switched off on demand, restoring a more primary-like phenotype for functional assays.
Reversible & tunableAdvantages of immortalized cell lines
Immortalized lines offer a practical and scientific complement to primary cells and animal models, particularly for applications that require scale, consistency, or long-term study.
Unlimited, consistent supply
A single banked vial generates essentially unlimited material, eliminating the donor variability and scarcity that constrain primary cell workflows.
Reproducibility across experiments
Genetically homogeneous populations ensure that results are reproducible within a lab and transferable between institutions, which is critical for publication-quality data.
Reduced animal use
Well-characterized immortalized lines enable a wide range of mechanistic, toxicological, and screening studies that would otherwise require primary tissue from animal sacrifice.
Cost and workflow efficiency
No recurring tissue procurement, donor screening, or isolation labour. A stable line reduces per-experiment cost substantially over the lifetime of a project.
Compatible with genetic engineering
Stable proliferation makes immortalized lines ideal substrates for CRISPR knockout, stable transgene integration, reporter systems, and other genetic modifications.
Access to rare cell types
Cells from rare species, difficult-to-access tissues, or ethically sensitive sources, such as foetal or diseased tissue, can be immortalized once and shared indefinitely.
Immortalized vs. primary cells: when to use each
The choice between immortalized and primary cells is not universal. It depends on the question you are asking. The table below summarises the key practical and scientific considerations to help guide that decision.
| Consideration | Immortalized cell lines | Primary cells |
|---|---|---|
| Supply & scalability | Unlimited; expand from a single banked stock indefinitely | Limited; tied to donor availability and isolation yield |
| Reproducibility | High; genetically homogeneous across passages | Variable; donor-to-donor and isolation-to-isolation differences |
| Physiological relevance | Good, especially hTERT lines; may show phenotypic drift at high passage | High; closest to in vivo behaviour and retains native phenotype |
| Lifespan in culture | Indefinite; no replicative senescence | Finite; varies by cell type. Diploid fibroblasts may undergo approximately 40-60 doublings, while many primary cell types senesce earlier |
| Genetic modification | Ideal; stable proliferation supports CRISPR KO, stable integration, and reporters | Challenging; limited divisions reduce efficiency of stable integration |
| Cost per experiment | Low once established; no recurring procurement | Higher; ongoing tissue sourcing, isolation, and QC costs |
| Best suited for | High-throughput screening, mechanistic studies, genetic engineering, longitudinal assays, scale-up | Translational studies, primary signalling responses, drug metabolism, short-term functional assays |
Need primary cells? abm's primary cell collection covers 400+ human and animal cell types with the same characterization standards applied to our immortalized lines.
Search and filter immortalized cell lines
Browse by keyword, species, bio system, or cell type. Product results update using the existing abm product search API.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about immortalized cell lines, available species and tissue types, gene editing, custom immortalization, and cell handling.
What is the difference between immortalized cell lines and primary cells?
What species and tissue types are available in abm's immortalized cell line library?
Can I use abm's immortalized cell lines for CRISPR editing or stable transgene integration?
What if the cell line I need isn't in the catalogue?
What are the different methods of cell immortalization?
Do immortalized cell lines maintain the characteristics of the original tissue?
How should immortalized cell lines be stored and handled?
Looking for a cell line not listed here?
abm can source or immortalize virtually any primary cell type. Reach out to our team and we typically respond within one business day.