Establishment of tumor cell lines cultured from chickens with avian lymphoid leukosis
Hihara, H.; Shimizu, T.; Yamamoto, H.
National Institute of Animal Health Quarterly 14(4): 163-173
1974
ISSN/ISBN: 0027-951X PMID: 4375792 Document Number: 73210
Tumour cells were successfully cultivated in vitro from three fowls with lymphoid leucosis induced by inoculation with a purified strain of subgroup A avian leucosis virus. A majority of the 46 cell clones isolated from them grew and floated free in suspension; a few remained attached to the supporting substrate during proliferation. The number of colonies formed in soft agar medium, in which the cloning of the cells had been carried out, was about 2-3X10-4 at primary culture and about 5-25X10-2 after cloning. Some representative clones were propagated by serial passage for more than 1-4 years and resulted in established cell lines. They propagated to a maximum concentration of about 1-3X106/ml and released infective virus of subgroup A showing as high a titre as 107 TCID/ml. The doubling time of some clones was 14-19 hours under the optimal conditions. The clones would be successfully stored frozen in liquid nitrogen. Morphologically, all the cell clones isolated had the characteristic of lymphoblastoid cells. Most of chicks inoculated with 2X105-2X107 cells of representative clones developed lymphoid tumours at the site of inoculation, as well as in visceral organs, and died within 21 days of inoculation.