Characterization of the novel spontaneously immortalized rat Müller cell line SIRMu-1

Müller cells (MCs) play a crucial role in the retina, and cultured MC lines are an important tool with which to study MC function. Transformed MC lines have been widely used; however, the transformation process can also lead to unwanted changes compared to the primary cells from which they were derived. A monoclonal spontaneously immortalized rat Müller cell line, SIRMu-1, was derived from primary rat MCs and characterized by RNA-sequencing (in addition to immunofluorescence and western blotting) in comparison to primary MCs and the SV40-immortalized MC line, rMC-1. Overall design: RNA-seq was performed on enriched polyA RNA from primary Müller cells (4 biological replicates of passage numbers 3-4), SIRMu-1 cells (5 biological replicates of passage numbers 6-20, two of which were cultured in the presence of the antibiotic gentamicin and the antifungal amphotericin B to match the culture conditions of the primary MCs), and rMC-1 cells (3 biological replicates of passage numbers 23-26).