Objective: To establish and characterize the cell line of ameloblastoma (AM) by transfection with human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT).
Methods: Primary cultures of AM cells were infected with a retroviral vector encoding hTERT. Infected cells were selected and checked by immunocytochemistry (ICC), in vitro proliferation, reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), senescence associated beta galactosidase staining (SA-beta-Gal staining), telomerase activity assay.
Results: Compared to the uninfected cells, which arrested at the population doublings (PDL) of 6, the infected cells were more active in proliferation and reached 65 PDL to date. ICC confirmed the epithelial origin of the infected cells based on positive pan-cytokeratin and negative vimentin expression. There was no senescent signal in infected cells but not in uninfected cells. hTERT mRNA and telomerase activity were detected stably in infected cells.
Conclusions: The infected AM cells were immortalized after transfection with hTERT and can serve as a genetically defined model for AM study.