Restoration of haemolytic complement activity in C5-deficient mice by gene complementation in hybrid cells

THE fusion of cells by inactivated Sendai virus provides a method for the study of gene regulation in mammalian cells. Two cells, each with a specific enzyme deficiency, have been joined to yield a hybrid cell containing both previously deficient enzymes1, 2. Harris and his co-workers have shown that terminally differentiated chick erythrocyte nuclei, when introduced into HeLa cytoplasm by cell fusion, are “reactivated” and direct the elaboration, by the hybrid cell, of chick proteins3, 4. These in vitro examples of gene complementation in hybrid cells give no indication of the functional significance of the elaborated gene products. We have used the cell fusion technique to develop an experimental model for the potential-correction of a specific genetic defect in a living animal.