ADRENAL-SPECIFIC TRANSGENE EXPRESSION AND DERIVATION OF CONDITIONALLYIMMORTAL RAT ADRENOCORTICAL CELL-LINES

Conditional immortalisation of cells is a powerful tool for establishi ng in vitro models maintaining a differentiated phenotype. We are util ising this approach to derive cell lines that maintain the characteris tics of glomerulosa and fasciculata cells of the adrenal cortex. Such cell lines should provide a system in which to study aspects of adreno cortical function that are relevant to hypertension, such as the effec ts of the renin-angiotensin system on steroidogenesis.