CMV-SV40/LTA(Hygro) Lentiviral Particles

CMV-SV40/LTA (Hygro) lentiviral particles are a sophisticated tool in genetic engineering and cell biology research. These genetically engineered particles express the SV40 large T antigen (LTA) under the control of a potent CMV promoter, ensuring high-level constitutive expression of this oncogenic protein. The introduction of a hygromycin resistance gene provides a reliable selection marker, enabling researchers to efficiently isolate and maintain stable transduced cell populations. One of the key advantages of this lentiviral system is its ability to infect both dividing and non-dividing cells, making it suitable for a variety of cell types. The lentiviral vector backbone ensures stable genome integration, enabling long-term expression without the need for repeated transduction.

The primary application of CMV-SV40/LTA (Hygro) lentiviral particles is cell immortalization, a crucial technology for establishing long-term cell cultures. The SV40 large T antigen works by inactivating tumor suppressor proteins such as p53 and Rb, effectively bypassing cellular senescence mechanisms. This allows primary cells, which typically have a limited lifespan in in vitro culture, to proliferate indefinitely, forming immortalized cell lines that retain many characteristics of their original tissues. These cell lines are crucial for ongoing experiments such as drug screening, toxicology studies, and mechanistic investigations, where primary cells age too rapidly. Furthermore, these viral particles are valuable for constructing stable cell lines expressing the large T antigen, which can be used for oncogenicity studies, viral replication studies, or cell cycle regulation studies.