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RPE-J is a retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cell line derived from primary cultures of RPE cells taken from 7-day-old Long-Evans rats.
The RPE-J clone was selected for an epithelioid morphology and for expression of circumferential staining with antibody against the tight junction protein 1, (Tjp1, ZO-1).
The cells express a transformed phenotype at the permissive temperature (33°C), and a non-transformed phenotype at the non-permissive temperature (40°C). They must be cultured at the permissive temperature and do not grow at 37°C.
When RPE-J cells are grown on nitrocellulose filters coated with a thin layer of Matrigel in the presence of 10(-8) M retinoic acid for 6 days at 33°C and then switched to the non-permissive temperature of 40°C for 33 to 36 hours, they acquire a differentiated polarized RPE phenotype. Under these conditions, RPE-J cells exhibit circumferential staining for the tight-junction protein ZO-1 and acquire a transepithelial resistance of 350 ohms/cm2. Ref
Nabi IR, et al. Immortalization of polarized rat retinal pigment epithelium. J. Cell Sci. 104: 37-49, 1993. PubMed: 8383696
RPE-J is the only established RPE cell line that maintains epithelial cell surface polarity. The cells retain many properties of RPE including expression of the rat RPE marker RET-PE2 and the ability to phagocytose latex beads.Ref
Nabi IR, et al. Immortalization of polarized rat retinal pigment epithelium. J. Cell Sci. 104: 37-49, 1993. PubMed: 8383696
A culture submitted to the ATCC in July 1995 was found to be contaminated with Mycoplasma hyorhinis and was cured by a 21-day treatment with BM Cycline. The cells were assayed for mycoplasma by the Hoechst stain and the standard culture test over a six-week period following treatment and all tests were negative.
Nabi IR, et al. Immortalization of polarized rat retinal pigment epithelium. J. Cell Sci. 104: 37-49, 1993. PubMed: 8383696
