Rat Perineurial Fibroblasts (RPNF)

Overview

Rat Perineurial Fibroblasts (RPNF) is a cell model used for research applications where physiologically relevant identity and donor background support interpretation of experimental readouts. Rat Fibroblasts derived from Sciatic nerve (Perineurial) within the Nervous system.

Perineurial fibroblasts are of mesenchymal origin and form the perineurium. The perineurium plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of the internal peripheral nerve environment by creating a physical barrier that, under physiologic condition, limits the entry of biologically active proteins, infectious agents, and blood-borne cells into the nerve bundles [1]. The perineurial fibroblasts are characterized by distinct ultrastructural features, including non-branching thin cytoplasmic processes coated by an external lamina and joined at their ends by a tight junction, few organelles, actin and vimentin filaments, and numerous pinocytotic vesicles [2]. Perineurial fibroblasts are initially recruited from the surrounding mesenchyme to form a loose, permeable sheath around axons and Schwann cells, where they are separated by the extracellular matrix. These cells later undergo a mesenchymal-to-epithelial transition to form tight junctions and organize into the perineurium. Perineurial fibroblasts are immunoreactive for vimentin and epithelial membrane antigen but not for the Schwann cell marker S-100 [3]. iXCells Biotechnologies provides high quality Rat Perineurial Fibroblasts (RPNF), which are isolated from postnatal day 8 rat sciatic nerve and cryopreserved at P1, with >0.5 million cells in each vial. RPNF express vimentin, S-100, GFAP and CD90. They are negative for mycoplasma, bacteria, yeast, and fungi and can further expand for 5 population doublings in Fibroblast Growth Medium (Cat# MD-0011) under the condition suggested by iXCells Biotechnologies.

Key elements and design rationale

• Cell identity: Fibroblasts (Primary Cells, Custom Cells)
• Source context: Sciatic nerve; Perineurial; Nervous
• Donor background: Age: Postnatal
• Biosafety level: BSL-1 (follow your institution’s biosafety program and local regulations)

Product-specific elements (such as tissue source, donor background, and cell classification) help frame how results should be interpreted across assays and experimental conditions.

Biological background

Fibroblasts are key stromal cells that produce and remodel extracellular matrix, coordinate wound repair, and shape tissue microenvironments through paracrine signaling.

Across primary and specialty cell models, experimental outcomes can be influenced by donor heterogeneity, passage history, confluence, and media composition. For interpretation, it is common to validate key markers or functional phenotypes in the user’s assay context and to document culture variables consistently.

Research relevance and current trends

• Increasing use of primary and specialty cells to improve translational relevance for target biology and phenotypic screening.
• Adoption of 3D culture formats and co-culture systems to better capture tissue microenvironments and cell–cell interactions.
• Integration of functional readouts with single-cell and multi-omics profiling to connect phenotype with molecular state.
• Growth of human-relevant neural models (including glial components) to study circuit- and inflammation-linked phenotypes.

Common research applications

• Profile identity markers by flow cytometry or immunostaining in cultured cells
• Quantify neurite outgrowth and synaptic marker profiles in neural cultures
• Quantify functional responses to defined stimuli relevant to the model system
• Compare baseline phenotype across donors/conditions using gene expression profiling
• Measure neuroinflammatory signaling in neuron–glia or microglia-enriched models

Interpretation typically focuses on how a perturbation (e.g., cytokine exposure, metabolic stress, genetic manipulation, or compound treatment) shifts marker profiles or functional readouts relative to an appropriate control matched for donor and culture variables.

Notes for experimental interpretation

• Donor-to-donor heterogeneity can influence baseline phenotype and treatment response; include biological replicates when feasible.
• Passage number, confluence, and media composition can shift gene expression and functional readouts; track and report these variables consistently.
• Contamination control (including routine mycoplasma monitoring) supports reproducibility in downstream assays.
• Use appropriate negative/positive controls for the readout (e.g., unstimulated controls, pathway agonists/antagonists) to contextualize observed changes.

SKU:BHC18500305

Customization & Add-ons: Can't find the cell line you need—or require a custom cell-based solution for your project? We can help you source the best match or support custom cell line services for diverse research needs, including cell line sourcing and selection (species, tissue, and disease model matching), stable cell line engineering (overexpression, knockdown, or knockout via CRISPR/Cas9, shRNA, or sgRNA), reporter gene integration (GFP, RFP, luciferase, and other fluorescent or bioluminescent constructs), genome editing and knockin (point mutations, tagged endogenous proteins, conditional alleles), inducible expression systems (Tet-On/Off and other regulatable constructs), drug resistance marker selection (puromycin, G418, hygromycin, and others), custom growth and media optimisation for specific assay requirements, scale-up production for high-throughput screening campaigns, and authentication and QC services (STR profiling, mycoplasma testing, viability assessment). Click Talk to a Scientist to submit a request, email us at support@biohippo.com, or explore our Research Services for additional support—our team will follow up with feasibility details and next steps.