Human leukemia cell lines--clinical and theoretical significances.

Establishment and total characterization of permanent growth-factor independent human leukemia cell lines are reviewed. Among others, a few significant contributions in the utility of leukemia cell lines described include establishment of immunodiagnosis of human leukemias and lymphomas, discovery of EB virus and of human retroviruses, proposed model of normal hematopoietic cell differentiation scheme, lymphokine-monokine production, identification and characterization, studies on genes responsible for immunobiological and growth regulatory molecules, and pharmacotoxicological and kinetic research. It is conceivable that the future leads by the utility of human leukemia cell lines to the advancement of research are indeed unlimited.