abstract |
The present invention relates to transfected primary, secondary, and immortalized cells of vertebrate origin particularly mammalian origin, transfected with exogenous genetic material (DNA) which encodes a desired (e.g., a therapeutic) product or is itself a desired (e.g., therapeutic) product, methods by which primary, secondary and immortalized cells are transfected to include exogenous genetic material, including DNA targeting by homologous recombination, methods for the activation and amplification of endogenous cellular genes, methods by which cells useful for large-scale protein production can be obtained, methods of producing clonal cell strains or heterogenous cell strains, and methods of gene therapy in which transfected primary, secondary or immortalized cells are used. n The present invention includes primary, secondary, and immortalized cells, such as fibroblasts, keratinocytes, epithelial cells, endothelial cells, glial cells, neural cells, formed elements of the blood, muscle cells, and other cells which can be cultured. |