title: WEHI-13VAR: a stable and sensitive variant of WEHI 164 clone 13 fibrosarcoma for tumor necrosis factor bioassay.
abstract: Bioassaying tumor necrosis factor (TNF) relies not only on a sensitive but also on a stable cell line towards TNF action. A variant of WEHI 164 clone 13, WEHI-13VAR, was characterized by us. This variant demonstrated both stability and high sensitivity towards rTNF-alpha or rTNF-beta when assayed in the presence of actinomycin-D (AcD). Fifteen subclones were generated from WEHI-13VAR (rTNF-alpha; ED50 range: 0.005-0.065 ng/ml). No clones were found more sensitive than the AcD-treated WEHI-13VAR cell line. An important feature of this line is its stable sensitivity. The stability of the cell line sensitivity towards rTNF-beta was demonstrated in the presence of AcD over a period of 16 months with an average ED50 of 0.046 +/- 0.004 ng/ml. In conclusion, unlike other TNF-sensitive cell lines in which the sensitivity is lost or the stability is unknown, WEHI-13VAR provides a sensitive, reliable and stable bioassay system to detect cytotoxin, TNF-alpha, and TNF-beta.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological and Medical Research, King Faisal Specialist Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Khabar
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Siddiqui
authors.forename: J A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Armstrong
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002460:Cell Line; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects / Q000276:immunology; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000276:immunology; D003601:Cytotoxicity Tests, Immunologic; D005354:Fibrosarcoma / Q000276:immunology* / Q000473:pathology; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051379:Mice; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha