Expression in transgenic mice of the large T antigen of polyomavirus induces Sertoli cell tumours and allows the establishment of differentiated cell lines.

The large T antigen of polyomavirus (PyLT) efficiently immortalizes rodent fibroblasts, but, unlike SV40 T antigen, it is not sufficient to achieve complete oncogenic transformation. We analysed a series of transgenic mouse families that express the PyLT protein under control of the viral enhancer-promoter region. In all of them, the transgene was expressed in the seminiferous epithelium of the testis (Sertoli and germ cells), with no pathological consequences during most of the animals' lives. However, every old male developed large bilateral tumours of the testes, generated by the proliferation of Sertoli cell derivatives. Cell lines could be readily established both from the tumours and from the still apparently normal testis before the onset of tumoral growth. They retained in vitro morphological and ultrastructural features characteristic of Sertoli cells. But, in addition to this major Sertoli component, the maintenance of a cellular contingent of germinal origin was suggested by the expression of genes that are normally transcribed during the premeiotic and early meiotic stages of spermatogenesis (LDH-X, Hox1.4 and c-kit). The two cell types remained tightly associated, even at late passages in culture, and could not be separated by conventional cloning procedures. This association in culture of the two cell types whose interaction is critical for spermatogenesis may provide a useful tool for its molecular analysis.