INTERFERON-PRODUCTION - VARIATION IN YIELDS FROM HUMAN CELL-LINES

A survey of human diploid, aneusomic, transformed and tumor fibroblast or fibroblastoid cell lines for their capacity to produce interferon after poly(I:C) induction showed considerable variation in responsiveness. There was no apparent correlation between karyotype or phenotype and interferon production. Pre-treating or priming the cells with human interferon generally led to increased yields of interferon poly(I:C) induction in all cell lines tested. All the cells showed the ''superinduction'' phenomenon, although to varying degrees. The combination of priming and superinduction conditions led to the production of very high yields of interferon in some cell lines, but in other lines, yields less than the primed or superinduced amounts were found. A more limited survey of human cell lines for their capacity to produce interferon after Newcastle disease virus induction showed that yields varied from line to line. Ability to produce interferon after Newcastle disease virus induction apparently did not correlate with that after poly(I:C) induction.