Applications of cell culture MCQs With Answer

Introduction: Applications of cell culture MCQs With Answer

Cell culture is a cornerstone technique in modern pharmaceutical research, enabling controlled study of cellular responses to drugs, toxins, and genetic modifications. For M.Pharm students, understanding the broad applications of cell culture — from drug screening and toxicity testing to biopharmaceutical production, tissue engineering, and personalized medicine — is essential. This quiz set focuses on applied aspects of cell culture methods, assay selection, model systems (2D, 3D, organoids), scalability in bioreactors, and regulatory considerations. Each question is designed to test practical knowledge and decision-making used in research and industry settings, helping students bridge theoretical concepts with real-world laboratory and production scenarios.

Q1. Which cell culture model is most suitable for recapitulating cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions to study drug penetration and microenvironment effects?

• Monolayer (2D) culture on plastic
• Hanging drop spheroid or 3D spheroid culture
• Suspension culture of single cells
• Primary cell culture on glass coverslips

Correct Answer: Hanging drop spheroid or 3D spheroid culture

Q2. Which in vitro assay is most commonly used to assess cell metabolic activity as a proxy for viability in cytotoxicity testing?

• ELISA for cytokines
• MTS/MTT/XTT colorimetric assay
• Flow cytometry for cell cycle
• Western blot for apoptosis markers

Correct Answer: MTS/MTT/XTT colorimetric assay

Q3. For assessing hepatotoxicity of a candidate drug in vitro, which cell system provides the most physiologically relevant metabolizing capacity?

• HEK293 cell line
• Primary human hepatocytes or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes
• CHO cell line
• Fibroblast cell line

Correct Answer: Primary human hepatocytes or induced pluripotent stem cell-derived hepatocytes

Q4. Which cell-based method is preferred for high-throughput screening (HTS) of compound libraries for receptor agonists/antagonists?

• Clonogenic colony forming assay
• Reporter gene assay using luciferase or GFP readout
• Transmission electron microscopy
• Patch-clamp electrophysiology on primary neurons

Correct Answer: Reporter gene assay using luciferase or GFP readout

Q5. Which culture technique is most appropriate for large-scale production of monoclonal antibodies in industry?

• Static adherent culture in T-flasks
• Suspension culture of CHO cells in stirred-tank bioreactors
• Primary lymphocyte cultures in small wells
• Hanging drop cultures in petri dishes

Correct Answer: Suspension culture of CHO cells in stirred-tank bioreactors

Q6. When developing a cell-based assay for drug transporter activity (e.g., P-gp), which approach best isolates transporter contribution?

• Use of primary hepatocytes without inhibitors
• Overexpression or knockout cell lines combined with specific transporter inhibitors
• Measuring total cellular ATP only
• Assessing general cytotoxicity by LDH release

Correct Answer: Overexpression or knockout cell lines combined with specific transporter inhibitors

Q7. Which culture condition modification is commonly used to induce differentiation of stem cells into a neuronal lineage in vitro?

• Maintaining high FBS concentration without growth factors
• Addition of growth factors like BDNF, NGF and retinoic acid in a defined differentiation medium
• Continuous mechanical agitation in spinner flasks
• Hypothermic culture at 25°C

Correct Answer: Addition of growth factors like BDNF, NGF and retinoic acid in a defined differentiation medium

Q8. Which cell culture-derived product requires glycosylation control as a critical quality attribute?

• Small molecule antibiotics
• Recombinant monoclonal antibodies and glycoprotein therapeutics
• Peptide hormones synthesized chemically
• Non-glycosylated viral vectors

Correct Answer: Recombinant monoclonal antibodies and glycoprotein therapeutics

Q9. For modeling intestinal drug absorption in vitro, which cell line or model is most widely used for permeability assays?

• HepG2 hepatocyte line
• Caco-2 epithelial monolayer cultured on Transwell inserts
• CHO cells in suspension
• Primary neuronal cultures

Correct Answer: Caco-2 epithelial monolayer cultured on Transwell inserts

Q10. Which advantage do 3D organoids have over 2D cultures when used for personalized medicine applications?

• They are cheaper and easier to maintain than 2D cultures
• They better preserve patient-specific tissue architecture and heterogeneous cell populations
• They eliminate the need for extracellular matrix components
• They always proliferate faster than 2D cell lines

Correct Answer: They better preserve patient-specific tissue architecture and heterogeneous cell populations

Q11. Which readout is most suitable for quantifying apoptosis specifically in cultured cells after drug treatment?

• Trypan blue exclusion assay
• TUNEL assay or Annexin V/PI staining analyzed by flow cytometry
• Measurement of culture pH alone
• Colony formation in soft agar only

Correct Answer: TUNEL assay or Annexin V/PI staining analyzed by flow cytometry

Q12. Which factor is most critical when translating cell culture potency data into in vivo dosing predictions?

• Color of the culture medium
• Accounting for differences in drug metabolism, protein binding and tissue exposure (ADME) between in vitro and in vivo systems
• Using the same plastic brand for culture plates
• Ensuring cells are cultured only at 20% confluence

Correct Answer: Accounting for differences in drug metabolism, protein binding and tissue exposure (ADME) between in vitro and in vivo systems

Q13. In gene therapy vector production using cell culture, which cell line is commonly used for adenoviral vector propagation?

• HEK293 cells (human embryonic kidney cells)
• Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae
• CHO cells in serum-free media
• Primary erythrocytes

Correct Answer: HEK293 cells (human embryonic kidney cells)

Q14. Which quality control test is essential to detect mycoplasma contamination in long-term cell cultures?

• Gram staining of culture medium
• Mycoplasma PCR or specific biochemical assays (e.g., MycoAlert)
• Measuring glucose consumption only
• Visual inspection under light microscope for bacterial colonies

Correct Answer: Mycoplasma PCR or specific biochemical assays (e.g., MycoAlert)

Q15. Which parameter is most important to control in stirred-tank bioreactors for maintaining mammalian cell culture productivity?

• Agitation speed, dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature
• Color of the impeller only
• Continuous light exposure at high intensity
• Keeping the vessel completely sealed without gas exchange

Correct Answer: Agitation speed, dissolved oxygen, pH and temperature

Q16. Which cell-based assay is especially useful for evaluating barrier integrity and tight junction function in epithelial models?

• LDH release assay
• Measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER)
• Alamar Blue metabolic assay
• Scratch wound migration assay

Correct Answer: Measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER)

Q17. Which approach increases the physiological relevance of in vitro infection models for viral therapeutics testing?

• Using immortalized cell lines exclusively without immune cells
• Co-culture systems or organoids that include target tissue cell types and immune components
• Growing cells at extremely low oxygen levels only
• Removing extracellular matrix and culturing in suspension

Correct Answer: Co-culture systems or organoids that include target tissue cell types and immune components

Q18. Which technique is most appropriate for quantifying secreted cytokine levels from cultured immune cells after stimulation?

• Flow cytometry for intracellular markers only
• Multiplex bead-based immunoassays (e.g., Luminex) or ELISA
• MTT viability assay
• Electron microscopy

Correct Answer: Multiplex bead-based immunoassays (e.g., Luminex) or ELISA

Q19. Which regulatory consideration is vital when using cell culture-derived biologics for clinical use?

• Documentation of raw material suppliers only
• Demonstration of product identity, purity, potency, safety (including adventitious agent testing) and GMP-compliant manufacturing
• Using traditional laboratory notebooks without batch records
• Skipping stability studies for rapid release

Correct Answer: Demonstration of product identity, purity, potency, safety (including adventitious agent testing) and GMP-compliant manufacturing

Q20. Which emerging cell culture platform allows integration of fluid flow, multiple cell types and real-time monitoring to model organ-level pharmacology?

• 2D static monolayer cultures
• Organ-on-a-chip/microphysiological systems
• Standard shaker flask suspension cultures
• Plating cells on non-coated polystyrene only

Correct Answer: Organ-on-a-chip/microphysiological systems

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