A human teratocarcinoma which expresses a rare neuronal cell surface antigen

A molecular characterization of the events at the cell surface of neurons is pivotal for our understanding of how the nervous system is formed and maintained. This study of cell surface events in the human nervous system may be crucial to the study of human neurological maladies. NTERA-2 is a human teratocarcinoma which is unique amongst the teratocarcinomas for its ability to express many neurons. Tested for the binding of a monoclonal antibody Tor 23, which recognizes a surface antigen on rare and specific neurons, cultures of NTERA-2 cells contained cells with a neuronal morphology which bound the monoclonal antibody Tor 23 on their surface. The data indicate that Tor 23 antigen is a cell surface molecule with the same or very similar properties in rays, rats, and humans. The NTERA-2 cells are thus capable of expressing highly differentiated neuronal cell surface phenotypes and promise to be a powerful model system for the study of cell surface events of the human nervous system in vitro.