Transformation of human fetal thymus and spleen lymphocytes by human T-cell leukemia virus type I

Co-cultivation of human thymus and spleen lymphocytes, which were obtained from 26-week and 27-week fetuses, with a lethally-irradiated human cord T-cell line harboring human T-cell leukemia virus type I (HTLV-I) resulted in the establishment of T-cell lines positive for adult T-cell leukemia-associated antigens and producing HTLV-I. These cell lines had the phenotype of a helper/inducer subset of peripheral T-cells as evidenced by the reactivity with monoclonal antibodies to human T-cells.