CMV-hTERT(Bla) Lentiviral Particles

CMV-hTERT(Bla) lentiviral particles are cutting-edge tools in cell engineering and longevity research. This lentiviral vector system is designed for efficient expression of the human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) gene under the control of the EF1a promoter, ensuring stable and sustained expression in transduced cells. The EF1a promoter was chosen because of its broad cell type compatibility and robust transcriptional activity, thereby improving the reliability of hTERT expression in various mammalian cell lines. Furthermore, this lentiviral construct integrates a blastcin resistance gene, providing a powerful selection marker that allows researchers to efficiently enrich successfully transduced cells. Compared to other antibiotics, using blastcin as a selector offers numerous advantages, such as rapid and rigorous screening, which minimizes the risk of false positives and ensures a pure, immortalized cell population. In addition, lentiviruses can achieve high transduction efficiency, stable genome integration, and long-term transgene expression in both dividing and non-dividing cells without significant gene silencing effects.

The primary application of CMV-hTERT(Bla) lentiviral particles is cell immortalization, a key technology for establishing stable cell lines that can maintain physiological relevance over long periods. By introducing the hTERT gene, this lentivirus is able to counteract telomere shortening—a major obstacle to unlimited cell proliferation—effectively extending the replicative lifespan of primary cells. This is particularly important for studies involving slow-growing or senescent cell types, such as fibroblasts, endothelial cells, or specialized epithelial cells, whose application in long-term experiments would otherwise be limited. Beyond its fundamental immortalization function, these particles also support research into telomere biology, aging mechanisms, and aging-related pathways, providing a controlled system for investigating how telomerase activity affects cellular function, genome stability, and responses to stressors.