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MRC-5
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MRC-5 (Medical Research Council cell strain

5) is a diploid cell culture line composed of
fibroblasts, originally developed from the lung
tissue of a 14-week-old aborted Caucasian
male fetus.[1][2] The cell line was isolated by
J.P. Jacobs and colleagues in September 1966
from the seventh population doubling of the
original strain, and MRC-5 cells themselves are
known to reach senescence in around 45
population doublings.[2][3][4]

MRC-5 cell

Applications

Culture and society …

During the COVID-19 pandemic, anti-

vaccination and anti-abortion activists believed
that MRC-5 was an ingredient of the Oxford–
AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, citing a study
from the University of Bristol. David Matthews,
a co-author for this study, clarified that MRC-5
was solely used for testing purposes to
determine "how the Oxford vaccine behaves
when it is inside a genetically normal human
cell."[6] The manufacturing of the vaccine used
the HEK 293 fetal cell line, the kidney cells of
an aborted female fetus, though the cells are
filtered out of the final product.[6]

See also …

Use of fetal tissue in vaccine development

WI-38

References

External links

Last edited 5 months ago by Clue…

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