F. Malleingerin et Br. Olsen, EXPRESSION OF SIMIAN VIRUS-40 LARGE-T (TUMOR) ONCOGENE IN MOUSE CHONDROCYTES INDUCES CELL-PROLIFERATION WITHOUT LOSS OF THE DIFFERENTIATED PHENOTYPE, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United Statesof America, 90(8), 1993, pp. 3289-3293
We have infected primary embryonic mouse limb chondrocytes with a retr
ovirus carrying simian virus 40 early regions and have obtained a mono
clonal mouse chondrocyte line, MC615, that was able to grow on culture
dishes for at least 7 months and 20 passages. MC615 cells show expres
sion of simian virus 40 large T (tumor) antigen and express markers ch
aracteristic of cartilage in vivo, such as types II, IX, and XI collag
en, as well as cartilage aggrecan and link protein. These data show th
at cell growth induced by large T oncogene expression does not prevent
the maintenance of the chondrocytic phenotype.