Lawrence Berman

Eight culture strains (Detroit) of human epithelial-like cells.

Summary The histories of 8 strains of human epithelial-like cells derived from bone marrow, ascitic and pleural fluids have been described. Preliminary observations on their morphology have been reported and the significance of these observations has been discussed.

Preservation of Human Epithelial-Like and Fibroblast-Like Cell Strains at Low Temperatures.

Summary Studies of cell preservation by slow freezing in 5% glycerol medium, storage at −70°C. and rapid thawing were carried out on 17 epithelial-like and 2 fibroblast-like human cell strains (Detroit). Following this procedure, each of the strains could be quickly recovered as actively proliferating cell strains with no changes in growth rate or strain characteristics.

Hereditary sideroblastic anemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in a Negro family.

Detailed clinical and genetic studies have been performed in a Negro family, which segregated for sex-linked sideroblastic anemia and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-DP) deficiency. This is the first such pedigree reported. Males affected with sideroblastic anemia had growth retardation, hypochromic microcytic anemia, elevated serum iron, decreased unsaturated iron-binding capacity, increased (59)Fe clearance, low (59)Fe incorporation into erythrocytes, normal erythrocyte survival ((51)Cr), normal hemoglobin electrophoretic pattern, erythroblastic hyperplasia of marrow with increased iron, and marked increase in marrow sideroblasts, particularly ringed sideroblasts. Perinuclear deposition of ferric aggregates was demonstrated to be intramitochondrial by electron microscopy. Female carriers of the sideroblastic gene were normal but exhibited a dimorphic population of erythrocytes including normocytic and microcytic cells. The bone marrow studies in the female (mother) showed ringed marrow sideroblasts. Studies of G-6-PD involved the methemoglobin elution test for G-6-PD activity of individual erythrocytes, quantitative G-6-PD assay, and electrophoresis. In the pedigree, linkage information was obtained from a doubly heterozygous woman, four of her sons, and five of her daughters. Three sons were doubly affected, and one was normal. One daughter appeared to be a recombinant. The genes appeared to be linked in the coupling phase in the mother. The maximum likelihood estimate of the recombination value was 0.14. By means of Price-Jones curves, the microcytic red cells in peripheral blood were quantitated in female carriers. The sideroblast count in the bone marrow in the mother corresponded closely to the percentage of microcytic cells in peripheral blood. This is the second example in which the cellular expression of a sex-linked trait has been documented in the human red cells, the first one being G-6-PD deficiency. The coexistence of the two genes in doubly heterozygous females has made it possible to study correlations in cell counts; our studies showed a strong positive correlation except in the probable recombinant in which a reciprocal relation held which indicated that X-inactivation was at least regional, rather than locus by locus.

Species-related antigens of mammalian cell strains as determined by immunofluorescence.

Summary A procedure has been described whereby species-associated antigens were directly identified in cultured mammalian cells by fluorescent antibody techniques. Guinea pig anti-cellular globulin fractions were conjugated with fluorescein isothiocyanate. Dispersed cells were prepared from monolayer cultures or frozen cell suspensions and the resulting wet cell suspensions were treated with the labeled antibodies. Staining specificity was recognized by presence or absence of peripheral fluorescence of the treated cells. Four cell strains derived from human tissues, 3 from mouse, and one from Chinese hamster, reacted specifically with homologous but not with heterologous labeled antibodies. Antibodies to monkey- and human-derived strains exhibited reciprocal cross-reactions that were eliminated by absorption procedures.

Comparative behavior of 16 ECHO virus types in fibroblast-like and epithelial-like human cell strains.

Summary The susceptibility ranges of a fibroblast-like and 6 epithelial-like human cell strains to 16 ECHO virus types have been described. All of these ECHO viruses except type 10 multiplied in the fibroblast-like cell strain (Detroit-196 Fb-L). In contrast, an epithelial-like strain (Detroit-196 Ep-L) evolving from the Fb-L strain, as well as 5 additional Ep-L cell strains, either were refractory or had narrow susceptibility ranges. The significance of differences in morphology with respect to virus susceptibility was discussed.