Patent ID: 7544511

Claim:
A method for obtaining a culture of human neural precursor cells capable of differentiating into neurons and glia comprising: a) culturing at least one neural precursor cell in a medium including a first mitogen selected from the group consisting of aFGF, bFGF, EGF, TGFα and combinations thereof; b) introducing into the neural precursor cell in the medium including the first mitogen a recombinant DNA construct comprising a receptor ligand-regulated c-myc cDNA, wherein c-myc cDNA is fused with DNA encoding a ligand-binding domain of a nuclear receptor; and c) expanding the neural precursor cell including the c-myc construct beyond thirty cell doublings prior to differentiation of said cell, wherein said expansion occurs in a medium containing the first mitogen and a second mitogen, wherein said second mitogen is selected from the group consisting of aFGF, bFGF, EGF, TGFα, serum and combinations thereof, and wherein said medium comprising the first mitogen and the second mitogen further comprises an amount of a c-myc-activating agent sufficient to maintain a stable cell line, wherein said c-myc-activating agent is capable of binding to the ligand-binding domain of said nuclear receptor.