title: Establishment of immortal normal and ataxia telangiectasia fibroblast cell lines by introduction of the hTERT gene.
abstract: To establish immortal human cells, we introduced the human catalytic subunit of telomerase (hTERT) gene into skin fibroblast cells obtained from normal and ataxia telangiectasia (AT) individuals of Japanese origin. After hTERT introduction, these cells continue to grow beyond a population doubling number of 200 while maintaining their original radiosensitivity. Inductions of p53, phosphorylation of Ser15 in p53, and induction of p21 by X-ray irradiation in immortal cells derived from normal individual were not affected by the hTERT introduction. Both normal and AT immortal cells exhibited an apparent inhibition of growth as original primary cells when they reached confluence. Karyotype analysis has revealed that they are in a diploid range. These results suggest that cells immortalized by hTERT introduction retain their original characteristics except for immortalization, and that they may be useful for analyzing various effects of radiation on human cells.
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory and Radiation Biology, Aichi Cancer Center Research Institute, Department of Molecular Pathogenesis, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. hnakamu@aichi-cc.jp
authors.forename: Hideaki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakamura
authors.forename: Hiroko
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Fukami
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.forename: Tohru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kiyono
authors.forename: Shigekazu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Nakatsugawa
authors.forename: Michinari
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamaguchi
authors.forename: Kanji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ishizaki
mesh_terms: D001260:Ataxia Telangiectasia / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology*; D002461:Cell Line, Transformed; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000473:pathology*; D018014:Gene Transfer Techniques; D006801:Humans; D012016:Reference Values; D019098:Telomerase / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; D019098:Telomerase