title: Transformation of rabbit vascular smooth muscle cells by transfection with the early region of SV40 DNA.
abstract: Rabbit aortic smooth muscle cells (SMC) and Rb-1 cells, a continuous line of the same origin, were transformed by transfection with pSV3-neo DNA, a plasmid containing the SV40 early region linked to the neoR resistance gene. Transformed clones were selected in G418-containing medium at a rate of 10(-4) per cell. All transformed clones were immortalized and contained in the early passages two free recombined plasmids derived from pSV3-neo. At advanced passages pSV3-neo sequences were found integrated in the cellular genome. Transformed cells had an altered morphology and growth pattern that differed among clones. Some clones reached high density in low-serum medium. All the clones stained positively for the intranuclear T antigen. Some clones had distinct transcripts for the large T and small t antigens, while in others only larger or truncated transcripts were found. Alpha-actin filaments were visualized by immunofluorescent staining in all the clones, but Northern blot analysis revealed a significant reduction in transcripts for this actin. All the transformed clones accumulated, to a variable extent, cholesteryl esters after incubation with beta very low-density lipoprotein. Six of the eight transformed clones maintained a diploid chromosome number, but there was an increase in structural chromosome aberrations, predominantly dicentrics. Transfection of pSV3-neo into rabbit vascular SMCs is an efficient model for obtaining transformed clonal populations. These clones show some phenotypic changes that may be relevant to the study of atherogenesis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathology, University of South Carolina School of Medicine, Columbia 29208.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nachtigal
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Legrand
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Nagpal
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Nachtigal
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Greenspan
mesh_terms: D000199:Actins / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D002472:Cell Transformation, Viral; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000235:genetics; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D004279:DNA, Viral / Q000235:genetics*; D005822:Genetic Vectors; D008055:Lipids / Q000032:analysis; D009131:Muscle, Smooth, Vascular / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D010641:Phenotype; D010957:Plasmids; D011817:Rabbits; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000235:genetics*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic; D014162:Transfection
chemical_list: D000199:Actins; D000952:Antigens, Polyomavirus Transforming; D004279:DNA, Viral; D008055:Lipids