Establishment of cell lines derived from ataxia telangiectasia and xeroderma pigmentosum patients with high radiation sensitivity.

Four human fibroblast cell lines, three of which were derived from a patient with ataxia telangiectasia and the other from a patient with xeroderma pigmentosum, were established after transfection with cloned SV40 DNA. These 4 cell lines showed some phenotypes characteristic of neoplastically transformed cells, and had a human karyotype with heteromorphisms identical to those of the parental fibroblasts. Their sensitivity to the cytotoxic effects of gamma-rays or ultraviolet irradiation was as high as those of their parental fibroblasts.