Embryonic mouse spinal cord motor neuron hybrid cells.

Studies of motor neurons are difficult because of limitations in their isolation and culture. One solution is to produce clonal neural hybrid cells that can express motor neuron characteristics; we fused an aminopterin-sensitive and neomycin-resistant mouse neuroblastoma cell line to isolated embryonic mouse spinal cord motor neurons. Several hybrid neuron cell lines expressing high levels of choline acetyltransferase (CHAT) enzyme activity were found. These were cloned and clones with high CHAT activity isolated. The hybrid nature of cloned cells was confirmed by karyotyping and determining glucose phosphate isomerase allozymes. The availability of these embryonic clonal hybrid cells will enable molecular, physiological, and biochemical studies to define motor neuron-specific properties.