ESTABLISHMENT OF HUMAN MICROGLIAL CELL-LINES AFTER TRANSFECTION OF PRIMARY CULTURES OF EMBRYONIC MICROGLIAL CELLS WITH THE SV40 LARGE T-ANTIGEN

Four continuous cell lines of human microglial cells were obtained by transfection of enriched cultures of human embryonic brain derived mac rophages with a plasmid encoding for the large T antigen of SV40. The transformed cells had the macrophagic characteristics of adherence and intra-cytoplasmic non-specific esterase activity. They could phagocyt ize zymosan particles but the phagocytic activity remained low. They e xpressed several macrophagic antigens but not the monocytic markers CD 14, CD4, CD68/Ki-M6 and CD11c. The cells could be activated to express class II major histocompatibility complex antigens after interferon-g amma activation, Finally, interleukin-6 was produced spontaneously by the cells and this production was further increased after interleukin- 1 alpha stimulation.