Konrad L, Munir Keilani M, Cordes A, Völck-Badouin E, Laible L, Albrecht M, Renneberg H, Aumüller G. Rat Sertoli cells express epithelial but also mesenchymal genes after immortalization with SV40.
Biochim Biophys Acta Gen Subj 2004;
1722:6-14. [PMID:
15716129 DOI:
10.1016/j.bbagen.2004.10.015]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2004] [Revised: 10/20/2004] [Accepted: 10/29/2004] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
A new immortal Sertoli cell line from pubertal rat testis was established and characterized. We have generated the clonal line SCIT-C8 expressing established markers for Sertoli cells (SC) like transferrin, clusterin and steel factor/stem cell factor (SCF). Additionally, the immortalized cells express afadin, a protein which is a member of tight and adherens junctions, therefore the cells may be useful for studies of the blood-testis barrier (BTB) in vitro. In contrast to primary SC, the immortalized cells lost expression of androgen receptor and responsiveness to androgens and follicle-stimulating hormone. Surprisingly, we found mRNA expression and protein secretion of the mesenchymal markers, fibronectin and entactin-1, which we also observed for the immortalized SC lines, ASC-17D and 93RS2. In comparison to primary SC, the immortalized cells demonstrated enhanced adhesion in vitro. This correlated with the expression of entactin-1 because adhesion was strongly reduced by antibody perturbation experiments. Additionally, we found the alternatively spliced and primarily muscle cell-specific long variant of TGF-beta2 not only in peritubular cells (PC), but also in the primary and immortalized SC. Furthermore, all immortalized cell lines secreted higher amounts of TGF-beta2 than primary SC. In conclusion, the immortalized SC lines from different developmental stages showed a similar pattern of epithelial and mesenchymal markers.
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