The present invention relates to cells that can be passaged in culture and can be used for, among other things, promoter assays and the production of heterologous proteins.
1. A hybrid cell comprising an avian tubular gland cell (TGC) fused to an immortal cell, wherein said hybrid cell comprises an exogenous nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein operably linked to an oviduct specific promoter.
2. The hybrid cell of claim 1 , wherein the protein is a therapeutic protein.
3. The hybrid cell of claim 1 , wherein the protein is a marker protein.
4. The hybrid cell of claim 1 , wherein the oviduct specific promoter is selected from the group consisting of promoters for ovalbum in, ovomucoid, conalbumin, ovomucin, and lysozyme.
5. The hybrid cell of claim 1 , wherein the protein is a human protein.
6. A hybrid cell comprising an avian tubular gland cell (TGC) fused to an immortal cell, wherein said hybrid cell comprises an exogenous nucleic acid sequence encoding a protein operably linked to an oviduct specific promoter, wherein the hybrid cell is sustainable in culture for at least ten or more passages.
7. The hybrid cell of claim 6 , wherein the hybrid cell is sustainable in culture for at least twenty or more passages.
8. The hybrid cell of claim 6 , wherein the protein is a therapeutic protein.
9. The hybrid cell of claim 6 , wherein the protein is a marker protein.