Morphological and functional characterization of a conditionally immortalized collecting tubule cell line.

A conditionally immortalized collecting tubule cell line, mCT1, was derived from the H-2Kb-ts A58 transgenic mouse (ImmortoMouse), which harbors a temperature-sensitive mutant of the SV40 large T antigen oncogene. Cells maintained under permissive conditions [33 degreesC with interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma)] form epithelial monolayers, express large T antigen, and proliferate (>50 passages). The cells retain properties characteristic of the renal collecting tubule (CT) including: vasopressin (VP)-stimulated cAMP accumulation, aquaporin-2 expression, high transepithelial electrical resistance, VP-stimulated ion transport, and amiloride-sensitive sodium absorption. When the cells are transferred to nonpermissive conditions (39 degreesC without IFN-gamma), the steady-state level of large T antigen protein declines (>95% decrease) and cell proliferation is arrested. This conditionally immortalized, murine renal cell line should prove useful for studies of CT physiology and large T antigen biology.