Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Mammary Transplantation of Stromal Cells and Carcinoma Cells in C57BL/6J Mice
Published on: August 12, 2011
Chicken cells--oncogene transformation, immortalization and more
1Institute of Molecular Genetics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Flemingovo nám. 2, 166 37 Prague 6, Czech Republic. plachy@img.cas.cz
Abstract:
Domestic chicken as a laboratory animal as well as chicken cells in vitro have been highly evaluated in several fields of experimental biology. Retrovirology and experimental oncology traditionally use this model, whose comparative aspects are still inspirative. The first (retro)viral aetiology of a tumour was recognized in the chicken and the first quantitative in vitro measurement of oncogenic transformation was developed using the chicken cells. Chicken cells (like human and primate, but unlike rodent cells) have a long primary life-span, during which they remain genetically stable. While this property is advantageous for several types of experiments, it correlates with a low propensity of the chicken cells to immortalization. Recent establishment of several continuous chicken cell lines, however, has surmounted this drawback. Furthermore, the chicken B cell line DT40 was proved to be extremely useful for gene disruption studies because of a high frequency of gene targeting not found in any vertebrate cells. In the present communication, we have tried to review several traditional achievements accomplished using the chicken model and point to newly opened areas, where chicken cells appear to be an efficient tool, particularly in cell transformation and immortalization.
Related Concept Videos
What is Cancer?
Although people have known about cancer for centuries, it was only in 1761 that Giovanni Morgagni of Padua performed a detailed autopsy of patients who died from...
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...
Cell Lines
Cancers Originate from Somatic Mutations in a Single Cell
Cancer-Critical Genes I: Proto-oncogenes
When the function of certain critical genes, especially those involved in cell cycle regulation and cell growth signaling cascades, gets disrupted, it upsets the cell cycle progression. Such cells with unchecked cell cycles start proliferating uncontrollably and eventually develop into tumors.
Such genes that act...

