Effects of bacterial agarase on agarose gel in cell culture

Summary Bacterial agarase, concentrated and purified from culture filtrate of agar-degrading bacteria, has been used to clean cells cultured in soft agarose from gel residues. The enzyme also has been used to liquefy the gel directly in the dishes to facilitate the removal of cells. The surfaces of glioma cells from agarase-treated colonies could not be distinguished in the scanning electron microscope from surfaces of cells which had never been in contact with agarose or agarase. This implies that most agarose residues had been removed, and also that the treatment did not seriously alter the cell surfaces. The influence of the agarase treatment also was tested by comparison of the mitotic index and the incorporation of ³H]thymidine in agarase-treated and untreated cells. No effects of the treatment could be seen in these tests. The work has been supported by the Swedish Cancer Society and the Swedish Natural Science Research Council.