Conditionally immortalized mouse hepatocytes for use in liver gene therapy

Background and aims: The use of hepatocytes for gene therapy is limited by the difficulty of maintaining and altering primary liver cells in culture. A conditionally immortalized mouse hepatocyte cell line has been developed which can be passaged indefinitely at the permissive temperature (33 degreesC), but fails to proliferate and dies at the non-permissive temperature (39 degreesC) in vitro. Methods: Hepatocytes were harvested from a 6 week-old male transgenic mouse ('immortomouse') carrying a thermolabile SV40 Large T gene, using a modified two-step collagenase perfusion method, and serially passaged at 33 degreesC for more than 1 year. To assess the ability of immortohepatocytes to engraft and populate mouse liver, cells were infused into partially hepatectomized congenic mice via the portal vein (n = 10) or the spleen with (n = 2) and without (n = 2) partial hepatectomy. The ability to transfect immortohepatocytes was assessed using the reporter gene enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Results: All immortohepatocytes in culture stained positive by immunohistochemistry for the hepatocyte markers albumin, AFP, CK8 and CK18. In early cultures a proportion of cells also stained strongly for the biliary epithelial markers CK7 and CK19. Late cell cultures were negative for M2PK and CK7 and stained variably with anti-CK19 antibodies. Cells transferred to the non-permissive temperature of 39 degreesC ceased proliferation and died within 1 week in vitro. Large T DNA was detected in the liver of all postoperative mice up to 2 weeks post-hepatocellular transplantation via PCR and Southern blot analysis. The immortohepatocytes were easily transfected with a reporter gene. Conclusions: Immortohepatocytes can survive in vivo after transfer to liver, and will be useful as a model for hepatic gene therapy. (C) 2000 Blackwell Science Asia Pty Ltd.