The response of five intestinal cell lines to anoxic conditions in vitro

Background information In vivo oxygen levels in tissues range from 1% to 15%, while mechanistic cell culture studies employ an atmospheric oxygen level of 21% to grow cells. These oxygen concentrations are therefore not representative for conditions where the cell response is dependent on oxygen partial pressure. In pathological situation, such as (colon) cancer or chronic inflammation, tissue oxygenation is severely affected, and even under physiological conditions a steep oxygen gradient is present in the large intestine, where epithelial cells co‐exist with microbial species, resulting in almost anoxia at the midpoint of the lumen. In these situations, a better characterisation of the essential cellular behaviour under hypoxia or anoxia is required. Results We have characterised the cellular response of commonly used cell cultures for the study of intestinal epithelial processes and colon cancer development (Caco‐2, HT‐29, SW480, HCT 116 and LoVo) under conventional normoxic conditions (21% O2) and in an anoxic (