HISTOLOGY AND HISTOPATHOLOGY

Cellular and Molecular Biology

 

Characterization of rat testicular teratoma and its derived cell lines, with particular reference to possible mesenchymal differentiations

Jyoji Yamate1, Katsuhiro Gamou1, Keiko Izawa-Ogata1, Takashi Kotera1, Takeshi Izawa1, Shigeo Takenaka2, Osamu Sawamoto3 and Mitsuru Kuwamura1

1Laboratories of Veterinary Pathology, Division of Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Izumisano-shi, Osaka, Japan, 2Cellular and Molecular Biology, Division of Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Izumisano-shi, Osaka, Japan and 3Research and Development Center, Otsuka Pharmaceutical Factory, Tateiwa, Muya-cho, Naruto, Tokushima, Japan

Offprint requests to: Jyoji Yamate, DVM., Ph.D, Laboratories of Veterinary Pathology, Division of Veterinary Sciences, Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University, Rinku-Ourai Kita 1-58, Izumisano-shi, Osaka-598 8531, Japan. e-mail: yamate@vet.osakafu-u.ac.jp


Summary. The original tumor, 4 cm in diameter, was found in the left testis of a 2-month old SD rat. The tumor consisted of well-differentiated, mature tissues such as bone, cartilage, adipose tissue, smooth and skeletal muscles, skin, hair, glands (salivary, sebaceous, apocrine and pancreatic exocrine glands) and trachea, as well as nerve tissues. The tumor was diagnosed as a mature type of teratoma, a rare in rat testis. Cloned cell lines (named TSD-B4S and TSD-F9R) were established from the tumor; cellular properties of these cell lines were similar to each other; basically, their cultured cells exhibited vimentin-positive mesenchymal nature with occasional cells reacting to α-smooth muscle actin, glial fibrillary acidic protein and CD163 (a macrophage marker). The cell lines showed tumorigenicity when inoculated into nude mice, being composed of immature mesenchymal cells arranged mainly in a sheet. In TSD-B4S cells treated with differentiation factors, we demonstrated mesenchymal differentiations towards adipogenic, osteogenic and myofibrogenic cells. The cell line (TSD-B4S) would become a useful tool for studies on stem cell differentiation, because the teratoma arises from primordial germ cells like embryonic stem cells. Histol Histopathol 29, 1201-1216 (2014)

Key words: Cell line, Mesenchymal differentiation, Stem cell, Rat testis, Teratoma

DOI: 10.14670/HH-29.1201