Abstract
Primary human renal proximal tubule epithelial cells (RPTECs) are of limited use for basic research and for clinical applications due to their limited lifespan in culture. Here we used two lentivirus vectors carrying the human telomerase (hTERT) and the SV40T antigen (Tag) flanked by loxP sites to reversibly immortalize RPTECs. Transduced RPTEC clones continued to proliferate while retaining biochemical and functional characteristics of primary cells. The clones exhibited contact-inhibited, anchorage- and growth factor-dependent growth and did not form tumors in nude mice, suggesting that the cells were not transformed. Transient Cre expression in these cells led to efficient proviral deletion, upregulation of some renal specific activities, and decreased growth rates. Ultimately, the cells underwent replicative senescence, indicating intact cell cycle control. Thus, reversible immortalization allows the expansion of human RPTECs, leading to large production of RPTECs that retain most tissue-specific properties.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 50 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $5.18 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Berghella L, De Angelis L, Coletta M, Berarducci B, Sonnino C, Salvatori G, Anthonissen C, Cooper R, Butler-Browne GS, Mouly V, Ferrari G, Mavilio F and Cossu G . (1999). Hum. Gene. Ther., 10, 1607–1617.
Bodnar AG, Ouellette M, Frolkis M, Holt SE, Chiu CP, Morin GB, Harley CB, Shay JW, Lichtsteiner S and Wright WE . (1998). Science, 279, 349–352.
Burger AM, Fiebig HH, Kuettel MR, Lautenberger JA, Kung HF and Rhim JS . (1998). Int. J. Oncol., 13, 1043–1048.
Condon J, Yin S, Mayhew B, Word RA, Wright WE, Shay JW and Rainey WE . (2002). Biol. Reprod., 67, 506–514.
De Young LM, Richards WL, Bonzelet W, Tsai LL and Boutwell RK . (1978). Cancer Res., 38, 3697–3701.
Dimri GP, Lee X, Basile G, Acosta M, Scott G, Roskelley C, Medrano EE, Linskens M, Rubelj I, Pereira-Smith O, Peacocke M and Campisi J . (1995). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92, 9363–9367.
Dreher D and Rochat T . (1992). Am. J. Physiol., 262, C358–C364.
Hahn WC, Counter CM, Lundberg AS, Beijersbergen RL, Brooks MW and Weinberg RA . (1999). Nature, 400, 464–468.
Harley CB, Futcher AB and Greider CW . (1990). Nature, 345, 458–460.
Hurlin PJ, Maher VM and McCormick JJ . (1989). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 86, 187–191.
Jiang XR, Jimenez G, Chang E, Frolkis M, Kusler B, Sage M, Beeche M, Bodnar AG, Wahl GM, Tlsty TD and Chiu CP . (1999). Nat. Genet., 21, 111–114.
Joly V, Saint-Julien L, Carbon C and Yeni P . (1990). J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther., 255, 17–22.
Kawano Y, Kobune M, Yamaguchi M, Nakamura K, Ito Y, Sasaki K, Takahashi S, Nakamura T, Chiba H, Sato T, Matsunaga T, Azuma H, Ikebuchi K, Ikeda H, Kato J, Niitsu Y and Hamada H . (2003). Blood, 101, 532–540.
Kim BH, Sung SR, Choi EH, Kim YI, Kim KJ, Dong SH, Kim HJ, Chang YW, Lee JI and Chang R . (2000). Exp. Mol. Med., 32, 29–37.
Kim D, Garrett SH, Sens MA, Somji S and Sens DA . (2002a). Kidney Int., 61, 464–472.
Kim H, Farris J, Christman SA, Kong BW, Foster LK, O'Grady SM and Foster DN . (2002b). Biochem. J., 365, 765–772.
Kiyono T, Foster SA, Koop JI, McDougall JK, Galloway DA and Klingelhutz AJ . (1998). Nature, 396, 84–88.
Kobayashi N, Fujiwara T, Westerman KA, Inoue Y, Sakaguchi M, Noguchi H, Miyazaki M, Cai J, Tanaka N, Fox IJ and Leboulch P . (2000). Science, 287, 1258–1262.
Kowolik CM and Yee JK . (2002). Mol. Ther., 5, 762–769.
Land H, Parada LF and Weinberg RA . (1983). Nature, 304, 596–602.
Lever JE . (1979). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 76, 1323–1327.
Montalto MC, Phillips JS and Ray FA . (1999). J. Cell Physiol., 180, 46–52.
Morales CP, Holt SE, Ouellette M, Kaur KJ, Yan Y, Wilson KS, White MA, Wright WE and Shay JW . (1999). Nat. Genet., 21, 115–118.
O'Hare MJ, Bond J, Clarke C, Takeuchi Y, Atherton AJ, Berry C, Moody J, Silver AR, Davies DC, Alsop AE, Neville AM and Jat PS . (2001). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98, 646–651.
Pfeifer A, Brandon EP, Kootstra N, Gage FH and Verma IM . (2001). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 98, 11450–11455.
Prowse KR and Greider CW . (1995). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 92, 4818–4822.
Rabito CA and Ausiello DA . (1980). J. Membr. Biol., 54, 31–38.
Racusen LC, Monteil C, Sgrignoli A, Lucskay M, Marouillat S, Rhim JG and Morin JP . (1997). J. Lab. Clin. Med., 129, 318–329.
Rhim JS, Jay G, Arnstein P, Price FM, Sanford KK and Aaronson SA . (1985). Science, 227, 1250–1252.
Rudolph AE, Stuckey JA, Zhao Y, Matthews HR, Patton WA, Moss J and Dixon JE . (1999). J. Biol. Chem., 274, 11824–11831.
Ruley HE . (1983). Nature, 304, 602–606.
Ryan MJ, Johnson G, Kirk J, Fuerstenberg SM, Zager RA and Torok-Storb B . (1994). Kidney Int., 45, 48–57.
Sharma GG, Gupta A, Wang H, Scherthan H, Dhar S, Gandhi V, Iliakis G, Shay JW, Young CS and Pandita TK . (2003). Oncogene, 22, 131–146.
Shay JW, Van Der Haegen BA, Ying Y and Wright WE . (1993). Exp. Cell. Res., 209, 45–52.
Silver DP and Livingston DM . (2001). Mol. Cell, 8, 233–243.
Stevenson M and Volsky DJ . (1986). Mol. Cell Biol., 6, 3410–3417.
Westerman KA and Leboulch P . (1996). Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93, 8971–8976.
Wright WE and Shay JW . (1992). Trends Genet., 8, 193–197.
Wright WE, Pereira-Smith OM and Shay JW . (1989). Mol. Cell Biol., 9, 3088–3092.
Yoakum GH, Lechner JF, Gabrielson EW, Korba BE, Malan-Shibley L, Willey JC, Valerio MG, Shamsuddin AM, Trump BF and Harris CC . (1985). Science, 227, 1174–1179.
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr RA Weinberg (MIT) for the hTERT cDNA and Dr B Sauer for the cre gene. This work was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant (R21 CA101629).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kowolik, C., Liang, S., Yu, Y. et al. Cre-mediated reversible immortalization of human renal proximal tubular epithelial cells. Oncogene 23, 5950–5957 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1207801
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.onc.1207801
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
A prospect of cell immortalization combined with matrix microenvironmental optimization strategy for tissue engineering and regeneration
Cell & Bioscience (2019)
-
A New Conditionally Immortalized Human Fetal Brain Pericyte Cell Line: Establishment and Functional Characterization as a Promising Tool for Human Brain Pericyte Studies
Molecular Neurobiology (2018)
-
Evidence of renal angiomyolipoma neoplastic stem cells arising from renal epithelial cells
Nature Communications (2017)
-
Establishment and characterization of a tamoxifen-mediated reversible immortalized mouse dental papilla cell line
In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Animal (2013)
-
Achievements and challenges in bioartificial kidney development
Fibrogenesis & Tissue Repair (2010)