Establishment and Characterization of Two Distinct Mouse Testicular Epithelial Cell Lines

Abstract

Two cell lines have been isolated from testis of immature BALB/c mice. These lines have each been cloned several times and have been established in culture for over 2 years. The cells are epithelial in appearance and do not form tumors when injected into BALB/c — nu/nu mice. The cell lines can be said to be two distinct cell types on the basis of their morphology, hormone response, responses to gonadotropins, and metabolism of steroids.

One line (TM4) has been tentatively identified as being of Sertoli cell origin, since it shows a growth response to purified ovFSH and an increase in cAMP in the presence of FSH but not LH. The other line (TM3), believed to be Leydig cells, is not growth-stimulated by either LH or FSH, shows an increase in cAMP in the presence of LH, and a change in the metabolism of [¹⁴C]-cholesterol in the presence of LH.