INSULIN-EXPRESSING HUMAN ISLET CELL LINES CAPABLE OF REVERSIBLY PROLIFERATING AND USE THEREOF

摘要

Reversibly immortalized human islet cell lines containing an hTERT gene and an SV40T gene each located between a pair of LoxP sequences, characterized by being capable of producing insulin and the expression of insulin being enhanced after removing the hTERT gene and the SV40T gene, in particular, NAKT-13 (having been deposited with International Patent Organism Depositary, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Address: Tsukuba Central 6, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8566 JAPAN, Deposition date: 04 September, 2003, Deposition No.: FERM BP-08461) or passage cell lines thereof; human islet cells obtained by removing the hTERT gene and the SV40T gene from the reversibly immortalized human islet cell lines or passage cell lines thereof as described above; and use of these cells. By using the reversibly immortalized human islet cell lines as described above, insulin-producing cells can be easily and surely obtained in a number enough to meet demand.