Rosette-Forming Human Lymphoid Cell Line (T-Cell Line MOLT). II. Ability for Clonal Growth

Summary

A unique, permanent T-lymphocyte cell line, designated MOLT-4, which originated from blood from a patient with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, could form colonies in soft agar medium. The cloning efficiency of MOLT-4 was compared with 2 lymphoblastoid cell lines having B-cell characteristics, 1 of which, B35M, had been derived from a biopsy specimen of Burkitt's lymphoma and regarded as a malignant cell line, and the other, B411-4, derived from the peripheral blood of a normal individual and regarded as a “normal” cell line. The cloning efficiencies of MOLT-4 and B35M in soft agar medium were in the range of 8-10% and 26-31%, respectively, in contrast to the 0.1–0.2% shown by the B411-4 cells. This observation suggested that the MOLT-4 cells might be malignant.