Immortalized Mouse Subcutaneous Adipose Multipotent Mesenchymal Cells (m17.ASC-GFP)

Immortalized Mouse Subcutaneous Adipose Multipotent Mesenchymal Cells (m17.ASC-GFP) were genetically modified by lentiviral vectors carrying green fluorescent protein(GFP). When injected in the spleen of NOD/SCID-gnull monocrotaline-treated mice, m17.ASC-GFP cells efficiently engrafted in the liver, candidating this cell line as a valuable stem cell model. It stably expresses the stem cell markers Sca-1, c-Kit/CD117, nestin, nucleostemin, CD44, and CD106, but is negative for the embryo stem cell markers Nanog, Oct4, and Sox2. The cells were endowed with multipotency and can be induced to differentiate toward osteogenic, chondrogenic, adipogenic, and cardiogenic phenotypes. It displays a normal karyotype and stable telomeres, neither proliferates when plated in soft agar nor gives rise to tumors when injected subcutaneously in NOD/SCID-g null mice. The cell line is thus recommended as a valuable tool for a number of applications in ex vivo tissue engineering to study the differentiation mechanisms involved in tissue repair, as well as a model for both pharmacological and toxicological studies. RT-PCR and cytofluorimetry were performed on the cDNA from the cells to confirm the expression of stem cell markers.