概要：Buffalo rat liver (BRL) cells are a spontaneously immortalized cell line known to maintain the pluripotency and karyotypic normality of embryonic stem (ES) cells.
BRL-conditioned medium (BRL-CM) has been found to inhibit the differentiation of established embryonal carcinoma (EC) and ES cell lines, allowing them to be maintained in the complete absence of feeder cells.
However, BRL-CM can only support the undifferentiated state of ES cells for a limited period of time.
Interestingly, research has shown that normal and Ha-ras-1 transformed BRL cells respond differently to cytoskeletal protein inhibitors.
In particular, the transformation of BRL cells with the Ha-ras-1 oncogene results in greater stability of microfilaments and microtubules, leading to a structurally firmer cell shape.
This suggests that the cytoskeletal properties of feeder cells might play a critical role in maintaining pluripotency.
