Adaptation of mammalian cells to cold. Resistance to cold and multiplication of L, Detroit-6 and HeLa cells adapted to low temperature.

Abstract Lines with an increased resistance to cold (4 °C) have been isolated from the lines L, Detroit-6 and HeLa by repeated exposure to this temperature for several weeks. The cold-adapted cell lines kept at 36 °C and at 30 °C produced twice as many cells out of the same original inoculum and the same amount of medium than the control cells after 6 days of incubation. A better utilization of substrate based on an increased metabolic activity may be the reason for this difference. The cold-adapted mammalian cells behave in some respects similarly to the cold-acclimated animals.