Somatic Cell Hybridization

Under the influence of Sendai Virus, human fibroblast cells and mouse tumor cells grown together in culture will fuse to form a heterokaryote, in which the nuclei fuse. Because the cell machinery is primarily murine, over successive mitotic divisions, human chromosomes (in blue) are gradually lost. Eventually, a number of hybrid cell lines are formed that have only one (Colony A) or a few (Colonies B & C) human chromosomes, which are readily identifiable. These cell lines can be screened for the presence of various human biochemical markers, which are then assignable to the retained chromosome.


All text material ©2003 by Steven M. Carr