Neural transplantation using temperature-sensitive immortalized neural cells: a preliminary report

Current approaches to neural transplantation--adrenal medullary and fetal brain--suffer from limitations in tissue availability, cellular uniformity, and general applicability. The system described here uses temperature-sensitive immortalized clonal neural cells to address these limitations. Cerebellar cells, immortalized with a temperature-sensitive tumor virus, are transformed at 34 degrees C, but differentiate at 38 degrees C. The cells were genetically engineered to express beta-galactosidase, providing a tag to study their fate in the host. The cells were then successfully transplanted to the cerebellum of adult rats.