Establishment and characterization of cell lines from homozygous brachyury (T/T) embryos of the mouse.

Lethal mutations in the T/t complex cause stage-specific morphologic abnormalities during early embryogenesis of mice. Although mutant embryos are lethal at the early stages of development, we have succeeded in establishing several cell lines from one of these mutants (T/T). Mutant-specific abnormality was not observed in gross morphology and growth patterns of cells. They, however, retained the characters of freshly dissociated embryonic cells to form smaller aggregates than the wild-type in rotation-mediated aggregation. One of the T/T cell lines (T-1) formed tumors when injected into one-day-old syngeneic and allogeneic host. Expression of H-2 antigens was serologically studied with H-2 specificity 5 as a marker antigen. All lines except T-1 were shown to have this specificity.