PROLIFERATION AND DIFFERENTIATION PROPERTIES OF PERMANENT SCHWANN-CELL LINES IMMORTALIZED WITH A TEMPERATURE-SENSITIVE ONCOGENE

Permanent Schwann cells lines have been established in culture after s table transfection of newborn rat Schwann cells with the pJC-SVLTtsA v ector, expressing a thermosensitive oncogene driven by the early promo ter-enhancer region of the gliotropic GS/B variant of the papovavirus JC. The proliferation and differentiation of two clonal cell lines hav e been studied, The cells of these lines display the morphology of pri mary Schwann cells and express Schwann cell differentiation markers su ch as the S-100 protein, laminin, the low-affinity receptor to nerve g rowth factor and the glial fibrillary acidic protein, One of the lines is able to differentiate further, Indeed, in the presence of dorsal r oot ganglion neurones, the cells synthesize the myelin Po protein and are capable of some myelination, although to a lesser extent than seco ndary Schwann cells.