title: Re-Cloning the N27 Dopamine Cell Line to Improve a Cell Culture Model of Parkinson's Disease.
abstract: Parkinson's disease is characterized by the death of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra. To understand the molecular mechanisms of the disease, an in vitro model is important. In the 1990s, we used the SV40 large T antigen to immortalize dopaminergic neurons derived from Embryonic Day 14 rat mesencephalon. We selected a clone for its high expression of dopaminergic neuron markers such as tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), and we named it 1RB3AN27 (N27). Because the original N27 cell line has been passaged many times, the line has become a mixture of cell types with highly variable expression of TH. In the current study, we have performed multiple rounds of clonal cultures and have identified a dopaminergic cell clone expressing high levels of TH and the dopamine transporter (DAT). We have named this new clone N27-A. Nearly 100% of N27-A cells express TH, DAT and Tuj1. Western blots have confirmed that N27-A cells have three to four times the levels of TH and DAT compared to the previous mixed population in N27. Further analysis has shown that the new clone expresses the dopamine neuron transcription factors Nurr1, En1, FoxA2 and Pitx3. The N27-A cells express the vesicular monoamine transporter (VMAT2), but do not express dopamine-beta-hydroxylase (DβH), the enzyme responsible for converting dopamine to norepinephrine. Functional analysis has shown that N27-A cells are more sensitive than N27 cells to neurotoxins taken up by the dopamine transporter such as 6-hydroxydopamine and 1-methyl-4-phenylpyridine (MPP+). The DAT inhibitor nomifensine can block MPP+ induced toxicity. The non-selective toxic effects of hydrogen peroxide were similar in both cell lines. The N27-A cells show dopamine release under basal and depolarization conditions. We conclude that the new N27-A clone of the immortalized rat dopaminergic cell line N27 should provide an improved in vitro model for Parkinson's disease research.
authors: Department of Human Anatomy and Histoembryology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.|Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, the Neuroscience Program, the Gates Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, and the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Lu
authors: L
authors: Gao
authors: Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, the Neuroscience Program, the Gates Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, and the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Wenbo
authors: W
authors: Zhou
authors: Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, the Neuroscience Program, the Gates Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, and the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Breanna
authors: B
authors: Symmes
authors: Division of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology, Departments of Medicine and Pharmacology, the Neuroscience Program, the Gates Center for Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine, and the Human Medical Genetics and Genomics Program, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Aurora, Colorado, United States of America.
authors: Curt R
authors: CR
authors: Freed
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D003001:Cloning, Molecular; D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta / Q000378:metabolism; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D008636:Mesencephalon / Q000166:cytology; D057126:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2 / Q000378:metabolism; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000378:metabolism; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000378:metabolism; D050493:Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D050483:Dopamine Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C546743:EN1 protein, rat; C496504:Foxa2 protein, rat; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; C539884:Nr4a2 protein, rat; D057126:Nuclear Receptor Subfamily 4, Group A, Member 2; C493454:Slc18a2 protein, rat; D014157:Transcription Factors; D050493:Vesicular Monoamine Transport Proteins; C433629:homeobox protein PITX3; D051542:Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 3-beta; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase