Development of a clonal equine myoblast cell line capable of terminal differentiation into mature myotubes in vitro.

OBJECTIVE: To produce a clonal equine myoblast cell line that retains the ability to divide for multiple passages and differentiate into multinucleated myotubes during specific conditions.

SAMPLE: Cultured primary equine skeletal muscle-derived cells from a healthy Thoroughbred.

PROCEDURES: Cell cultures were transfected by electroporation with a plasmid (pNIT) that expresses the temperature-sensitive simian vacuolating virus 40 large T antigen (TAg), which can be controlled by a doxycycline-responsive promoter. Cells that stably integrated the TAg were selected and expanded to passage 25. For each passage, differentiation and fusion properties of the cells were determined and immunocytochemical analyses were performed to evaluate expression of TAg and other muscle-specific proteins. Optimum conditions that led to cell differentiation into myotubes were also determined.

RESULTS: Compared with nontransfected control cells, myogenic, desmin-positive cells expressed the TAg when incubated at 33°C and could be maintained in culture for numerous passages. Reduced expression of TAg was identified in cells incubated at 37°C or when incubated with doxycycline at 33°C. Expression of TAg was not detected when cells were incubated with doxycycline at 37°C, and when serum was withdrawn from the culture medium, those clones differentiated into a pure population of multinucleated myotubes.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Results indicated that production of an immortalized clonal equine skeletal muscle cell line was possible. A clonal equine skeletal muscle cell line will be a valuable in vitro tool for use in equine physiology and disease research.