Establishment and characterization of human fetal liver epithelial cell line transfected with SV40 T antigen

The aim of the present study was to establish a stable cell line useful for the study of growth and differentiation of human fetal liver cells. We have established an immortalized human fetal liver cell line (designated NFL/T) by transfection with simian virus 40 (SV40) large T antigen, without any culture crisis. The cells showed growth properties similar to normal cells, including density-dependent cell growth. Electron microscopy demonstrated liver-specific differentiated morphological properties. Moreover, positive albumin and cytokeratin 7 production was detected immunologically. Thus, the NFL/T cell line is less transformed than the other fetal liver cell lines established by this method, and might be useful to study the growth and differentiation of human fetal liver cells.