Establishment of Continuous Cultures of T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells at Diagnosis

We have devised methods facilitating the establishment of continuous cultures of T-cell blasts from patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia of T-cell type at diagnosis. The cultured cells closely resemble those of the patients at the time of diagnosis with respect to surface markers, karyotype, and T-cell receptor gene rearrangements. Cultured T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (diagnosis) cells ( a ) are lymphocytes with a convoluted nucleus; ( b ) have doubling times of 24–48 h; ( c ) are dependent for growth on interleukin 2; ( d ) are reverse transcriptase negative; ( e ) do not form colonies in methyl cellulose; and ( f ) are clonal with respect to T-cell receptor β chain rearrangements. Three T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia cultures had a normal diploid karyotype, and one had a 6q- deletion which was also present at the time of diagnosis.