A new approach to the biochemical mechanisms of macrophages: continuous human macrophage cell lines

Macrophages are biologically complex cells that play a fundamental role in host defense from micro-organisms and tumor cells. Most of the biochemical mechanisms underlying their functions are still unknown. One of the macrophage functions that should be studied and understood at the molecular level is cytotoxicity toward tumor cells. Macrophage-like continuous cell lines of human origin cultured in vitro begin to be developed, and represent a new and possibly fruitful approach to the study of biochemical reactions at the basis of macrophage behaviour.