Abstract
Summary
A cell line derived from a 9-week-old chimpanzee fetus has been established and grown for 2 hr through serial cultivation and recovery of frozen stocks. A normal female chimpanzee diploid karyotype of 2n = 48 was observed, and inoculation of newborn hamsters with viable cells has yielded no tumors after several months. SFRE:CL-1 cells have shown a susceptibility to infection by a wide variety of human and simian viruses, usually with cytopathological manifestations. The original culture was carried through more than 80 subpassages prior to degeneration; frozen stocks have repeatedly progressed beyond 50 passages without apparent morphological alterations, reduction of growth potential, or loss of viral susceptibility. SFRE:CL-1 cells have consistently proven to be less fastidious in their growth and maintenance characteristics than human diploid fibroblasts (WI-38), which they resemble in their susceptibility spectrum and morphology. This cell line should provide a valuable tool not only for the isolation and propagation of primate viruses, but also for studies relative to cell senescence and vaccine production.
We wish to acknowledge the technical assistance of Mrs. Billie Stewart. This study was funded in part by U.S. Public Health Service grants RR00519, RR00278, RR00361 and RR00451 and contract NIH 69-93 and WHO grant Z2/181/27.
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