Human Cell Culture Vol. III, Cancer Cell Lines Part 3: Leukaemias and Lymphomas

Human Cell Culture Vol. III, Cancer Cell Lines Part 3: Leukaemias and Lymphomas. Edited by J. R. W. Masters and B. O. Palsson. Kluwer Academic Press, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, 2000. Pp. 397. £135. ISBN: 0-7923-6225X. The publication of this reference book is certainly a timely one in a climate in which concerns about patient consent limit the access of primary tissue samples to researchers. Undoubtedly, there have been substantial successes in the use of cell lines to advance our understanding of the pathogenesis and characteristics of haematopoietic malignancies. To facilitate use of these powerful tools, the authors present a heroic compilation of the available leukaemia± lymphoma cell lines. However, there is a clear cautionary note on the lack of sufficiently stringent characterization and the risks of extrapolating results obtained with cell lines to an in vivo situation. The first chapter offers an introduction to the legacy of the establishment of in vitro counterparts to human malignancies. Beginning with a historical account of the earliest achievements in culture, the authors describe those features that are common to continuous cell lines, how cell lines may be established, and what information is required to properly characterize these lines and enable classification. The key features highlighted as critical in the assessment of new cell lines include the relevant clinical data, conditions for culture, immunophenotyping and cytogenetics. Furthermore, the authors stress that cell lines must be subject to authentication, preferably by forensic-type DNA fingerprinting, to avoid the introduction of `false cell lines' into the public arena. Subsequent chapters are dedicated to specific categories of haematological cancers. Each chapter roughly follows the same organization to describe the salient features of the chosen subject. Using the principles outlined in the first chapter, cell lines are evaluated in terms of clinical characterization, immunophenotype and cytogenetics. Additional information is provided about cytokine-related characterization, genotyping, cyochemistry, morphology and functional aspects. Throughout the text there is widespread and effective use of this information in tabular form. This is indeed the strongest asset of this book. What seriously detracts from the usefulness of these wellresearched and extensively referenced charts is the lack of any index, which significantly reduces the value of this book as a reference work. Although the title of each chapter provides some guidance, it is rather an annoyance to have to skim through the pages in order to find one's topic of interest. This is especially difficult when there are chapters with overlapping coverage, as is the case in Chapter 2 `BCell Precursor Cell Lines' and Chapter 3 `B-Lymphoid Cell Lines.' Although the information listed in the tables is extensive, much of the text suffers from being little more than reiterative. There are some notable exceptions such as the chapter on multiple myeloma cell lines, which offers some insight into current thinking about the molecular mechanisms underlying the neoplasms being discussed. In other chapters, the flat description of a list of cell surface markers or chromosomal translocations, for example, makes for rather uninteresting reading. The book could have also benefited from the inclusion of more figures other than the tables to illustrate certain points in the text. There is one such figure in the chapter on B-lymphoid cell lines that presents a hypothetical scheme of B-cell differentiation with neoplastic counterparts and examples of representative cell lines. This is a welcome addition to the accompanying text and provides a useful summary at a glance. The final chapter concludes with a return to the emphasis on vigilance in the detection and prevention of crosscontamination and misidentification. While this is an indisputably important problem to highlight, some of the criticisms have a rather personal tone, detracting from the delivery of an admirable message. Overall, this book succeeds in presenting a vast amount of information about individual and categories of haematopoietic cell lines in a clear and accessible manner. In future editions, however, I hope that this will be improved with the inclusion of an index and a reflection of how technological advances such as gene arrays are changing and expanding this challenging field.