ABSTRACT
The subsequent isolation, purification and sequencing of this factor revealed that it was a decapeptide that could stimulate secretion of both luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone from the pituitary. Due to these properties, this peptide was termed LH-releasing hormone (LHRH) or gonadotropin-releasing hormone. The feasibility of obtaining immortalized LHRH neuronal cell lines became apparent following two major developments in transgenic mouse technology. First, Mason and colleagues had successfully targeted LHRH neurons for gene therapy in hypogonadal mice. A second development relates to ability to target expression of the simian virus-40 T-antigen oncogene to a given cell such that it becomes immortalized. When the anterior hypothalamic tumor cells were dispersed and grown in culture, they were very heterogeneous. Due to this property, these immortalized neurons can be co-cultured with other cell lines or with primary cells from the pituitary, olfactory placode, hypothalamus, or other regions of the brain to study cell-cell interactions.
