Immortalization of mouse germ line stem cells.

ABSTRACT: In the mammalian testis, the germ line stem cells are a small subpopulation of type A spermatogonia that proliferate and ultimately differentiate into sperm under the control of both endocrine and paracrine factors. To study the early phases of spermatogenesis at the molecular level, an in vitro system must be devised whereby germ line stem cells can be either cultured for a prolonged period of time or expanded as cell lines. In the study reported here, we chose to immortalize type A spermatogonia using the Simian virus large T-antigen gene (LTAg) under the control of an ecdysone-inducible promoter. While the cells escaped the hormonal control after a finite number of generations and expressed the LTAg constitutively, their growth remained slow and the cells exhibited morphological feature

SUBMITTER: Hofmann MC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3151429 | biostudies-literature | 2005 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature