Characterization of the novel spontaneously immortalized rat Müller cell line SIRMu-1

Thaksaon Kittipassorn, Cameron D. Haydinger, John P.M. Wood, Teresa Mammone, Robert J. Casson, Daniel J. Peet*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearchpeer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)
58 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Müller cells (MCs) play a crucial role in the retina, and cultured MC lines are an important tool with which to study MC function. Transformed MC lines have been widely used; however, the transformation process can also lead to unwanted changes compared to the primary cells from which they were derived. To provide an alternative experimental tool, a novel monoclonal spontaneously immortalized rat Müller cell line, SIRMu-1, was derived from primary rat MCs and characterized. Immunofluorescence, western blotting and RNA sequencing demonstrate that the SIRMu-1 cell line retains similar characteristics to cultured primary MCs in terms of expression of the MC markers cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein, glutamine synthetase, S100, vimentin and glial fibrillary acidic protein at both the mRNA and protein levels. Both the cellular morphology and overall transcriptome of the SIRMu-1 cells are more similar to primary rat MCs than the commonly used rMC-1 cells, a well-described, transformed rat MC line. Furthermore, SIRMu-1 cells proliferate rapidly, have an effectively indefinite life span and a high transfection efficiency. The expression of Y chromosome specific genes confirmed that the SIRMu-1 cells are derived from male MCs. Thus, the SIRMu-1 cell line represents a valuable experimental tool to study roles of MCs in both physiological and pathological states.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)127-135
Number of pages9
JournalExperimental Eye Research
Volume181
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2019
Externally publishedYes

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