Extended-term culture of human T lymphocytes: Material potentially useful in genotoxicity testing

A simplified method, using recombinant interleukin-2, foetal bovine serum and freeze-killed feeder cells, has been developed for the mass culture of T lymphocytes derived from human peripheral blood. In this protocol, aliquots of bulk cultures can be cryopreserved about 8 days after initiation, and subsequent mass cultures generated a further week after recovery. At the end of this period the lymphocytes are karyotypically normal, and cultures from different donors are very similar in terms of rate of cell division and expression of key antigenic markers. Such extended-term T lymphocyte cultures are potentially valuable in genotoxicity testing, combining the practical convenience of established cell lines with the theoretical advantage of possession of the normal human karyotype.