Generation of HTLV-I-transformed T cell lines.

Viral transformation of T cells is an effective method for obtaining large numbers of T cells that are easily maintained in the laboratory. Human T cell leukemia/lymphoma virus (HTLV-I), a type C retrovirus clearly implicated as the etiologic agent of adult T cell leukemia, can both infect and transform normal T cells. This unit presents a protocol in which human T cells are activated and then transformed with HTLV-I. Detection of virally transformed cells is discussed in the commentary.