The NTERA-2 (also designated NTERA2/D1, NTERA2, or NT2) cell line is a clonally derived,
pluripotent
Cell potency is a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types.
The more cell types a cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency. Potency is also described as the gene activation potential within a cell, which like a continuum ...
human
embryonal carcinoma
Embryonal carcinoma is a relatively uncommon type of nonseminomatous germ cell tumour that occurs in the ovaries and testes.
Signs and symptoms
The presenting features may be a palpable testicular mass or asymmetric testicular enlargement in som ...
cell line
An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism that would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells ...
.
Characteristics
NTERA-2 cells exhibit biochemical and developmental properties similar to the cells of the early
embryo
An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male sp ...
, and can be used to study the early stages of human
neurogenesis
Neurogenesis is the process by which nervous system cells, the neurons, are produced by neural stem cells (NSCs). This occurs in all species of animals except the porifera (sponges) and placozoans. Types of NSCs include neuroepithelial cells ( ...
cytoplasm
The cytoplasm describes all the material within a eukaryotic or prokaryotic cell, enclosed by the cell membrane, including the organelles and excluding the nucleus in eukaryotic cells. The material inside the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell a ...
ic ratio, prominent
nucleoli
The nucleolus (; : nucleoli ) is the largest structure in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. It is best known as the site of ribosome biogenesis. The nucleolus also participates in the formation of signal recognition particles and plays a ro ...
, and the expression of the
glycolipid
Glycolipids () are lipids with a carbohydrate attached by a glycosidic (covalent) bond. Their role is to maintain the stability of the cell membrane and to facilitate cellular recognition, which is crucial to the immune response and in the c ...
antigen
In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response.
...
SSEA-3
Stage-specific embryonic antigen 3 (SSEA-3) is a glycosphingolipid, specifically, an oligosaccharide composed of five carbohydrate units connected to a sphingolipid, also known as globoside-5 (Gb5). Sphingolipids were originally discovered in 1884 ...
vimentin
Vimentin is a structural protein that in humans is encoded by the ''VIM'' gene. Its name comes from the Latin ''vimentum'' which refers to an array of flexible rods.
Vimentin is a Intermediate filament#Type III, type III intermediate filamen ...
, which are found in neuroepithelial
precursor cell
In cell biology, precursor cells—also called blast cells—are partially differentiated, or intermediate, and are sometimes referred to as progenitor cells. A precursor cell is a stem cell with the capacity to differentiate into only one cell ...
s, as well as
microtubule-associated protein
In cell biology, microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) are proteins that interact with the microtubules of the cellular cytoskeleton. MAPs are integral to the stability of the cell and its internal structures and the transport of components withi ...
s expressed in human
neuroepithelium Neuroepithelial cells, or neuroectodermal cells, form the wall of the closed neural tube in early embryonic development. The neuroepithelial cells span the thickness of the tube's wall, connecting with the pial surface and with the ventricular or l ...
. NTERA-2 cells also accumulate cytoplasmic
glycogen
Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide of glucose that serves as a form of energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. It is the main storage form of glucose in the human body.
Glycogen functions as one of three regularly used forms ...
retinoic acid
Retinoic acid (simplified nomenclature for all-''trans''-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-''trans''-retinol) that is required for embryonic development, male fertility, regulation of bone growth and immune function. All-''trans ...
and lose expression of SSEA-3. Differentiation produces
neuron
A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
s via
asymmetric cell division
An asymmetric cell division produces two daughter cells with different cellular fates. This is in contrast to symmetric cell divisions which give rise to daughter cells of equivalent fates. Notably, stem cells divide asymmetrically to give rise to ...
, and these cells form interconnected
axon
An axon (from Greek ἄξων ''áxōn'', axis) or nerve fiber (or nerve fibre: see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, spelling differences) is a long, slender cellular extensions, projection of a nerve cell, or neuron, ...
networks and express
tetanus toxin
Tetanus toxin (TeNT) is an extremely potent neurotoxin produced by the vegetative cell of '' Clostridium tetani'' in anaerobic conditions, causing tetanus. It has no known function for clostridia in the soil environment where they are normal ...
receptors and
neurofilament
Neurofilaments (NF) are classed as Intermediate filament#Type IV, type IV intermediate filaments found in the cytoplasm of neurons. They are protein polymers measuring 10 nm in diameter and many micrometers in length. Together with mic ...
proteins. By 10–14 days of exposure to retinoic acid, NTERA-2 cells begin to take on the morphological characteristics of neurons, such as rounded cell bodies and processes. NTERA-2 cells can also produce a small number of
oligodendrocyte
Oligodendrocytes (), also known as oligodendroglia, are a type of neuroglia whose main function is to provide the myelin sheath to neuronal axons in the central nervous system (CNS). Myelination gives metabolic support to, and insulates the axons ...
-type cells, but they cannot differentiate into
astrocytes
Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" and , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of end ...
.
Research
Because of their similarity to human
embryonic stem cell
Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are Cell potency#Pluripotency, pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-Implantation (human embryo), implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4 ...
s, NTERA-2 cells are used to study the
dopaminergic
Dopaminergic means "related to dopamine" (literally, "working on dopamine"), a common neurotransmitter. Dopaminergic substances or actions increase dopamine-related activity in the brain.
Dopaminergic pathways, Dopaminergic brain pathways facil ...
differentiation of neuronal precursor cells. They have also been proposed as an in vitro test system for developmental
neurotoxicity
Neurotoxicity is a form of toxicity in which a biological, chemical, or physical agent produces an adverse effect on the structure or function of the central and/or peripheral nervous system. It occurs when exposure to a substance – specifical ...
.
History
NTERA-2 cells were originally isolated from a lung
metastasis
Metastasis is a pathogenic agent's spreading from an initial or primary site to a different or secondary site within the host's body; the term is typically used when referring to metastasis by a cancerous tumor. The newly pathological sites, ...
from a 22-year-old male patient with primary embryonal carcinoma of the
testis
A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is Homology (biology), homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of Androgen, androgens, p ...
. The tumor was
xenograft
Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another.