Polychlorinated Biphenyl Interactions with Tissue Culture Cells

The successful use of tissue culture cells in biological work is now almost 60 years old. However, the applicability or the "fitness" of these cells to demonstrate biological principals is still debated. It is well known that many of the cell lines bear little resemblance to the parent tissue or organ cells. Yet isolated functional cells of serially-propagated clonal strains, that can perform specialized, organ-specific functions for prolonged periods, have been produced in nearly limitless numbers (1). The loss of specific function has been ascribed to (i) selective overgrowth by connective tissue cells, (ii) a phenotypic change in the cultured cells, or (iii) inadequate or harmful environmental conditions (2). In order to circumvent these problems, primary cell lines are used and tested before the line "adapts" to culture conditions through aneuploidy or other means. The use of tissue culture cells for the examination of environmental chemicals has been relatively recent (3). The effects measured have been (i) inhibitory dose, (ii) toxic dose, (iii) cytotoxic effects, and (iv) chromosome aberrations. Samuel (4) has used both established and primary cell lines also to study the metabolism of certain pesticides. Litterst and Lichtenstein (3) using HeLa cells and a cell line of non-malignant origin found that the interaction of DDT and PCBs (Aroclor 1254) that had been found in ffies was absent. They concluded that the various