Serological Comparisons among Tissue Culture Cell Lines

Abstract

IT has long been a question whether cells derived from normal tissues acquire some malignant attributes after long-term tissue culture, especially those cells which have become established in vitro as lines. This has been a particularly vexing problem to pharmaceutical houses, necessitating the use of primary cell cultures for vaccine production. Some cells of supposed normal derivation have been shown to produce tumours after inoculation into suitable recipients^1–4 and to assume the heteroploid pattern of malignant cells⁵. It is the purpose of this preliminary report to present evidence that cells of known malignant origin contain antigenic matorial which is not found in cells of normal origin. Suggestive evidence that this antigenic material is shared by cells of malignant human and murine tissues, thus transcending species barriers, will also be given.