Blastoid Transformation of Rabbit and Guinea Pig Peripheral Lymphocytes by Phytohemagglutinin. ∗

Summary

Rabbit and guinea pig peripheral lymphocytes were grown in suspension culture with minimum essential medium supplemented with fetal calf or rabbit serum and 1% L-glutamine, 200 mM. The addition of phytohemagglutinin transformed the lymphocytes into cytologically immature blastoid cells capable of RNA and DNA synthesis and mitotic division. The response began within the first 24 hours of culture and by 72 hours about 75% of the surviving cells were transformed into blastoid cells. Autoradiography with H³-thymidine disclosed that phytohemagglutinin induced blastogenesis occurs in a population of small lymphocytes which are transformed into large cells prior to the advent of mitotic division.