Cultivation of tissue and cell cultures of human skeletal and soft tissue tumors

Monoclonal antibodies to periodontal ligament cells

Ten mouse monoclonal antibodies were prepared against cultured bovine periodontal ligament cells to be used as reagents for the study of periodontal disease and wound healing. Using standard immunohistochemical methods, these antibodies were found to recognize cell surface antigens in formalin-fixed bovine periodontium. Three of the 10 monoclonal antibodies (i.e., PDL-1, PDL-2, and PDL-10) cross-reacted with cells found in primate periodontium. While the isolated monoclonal antibodies appeared to distinguish subpopulations of cells located in the supporting tissues of teeth, immunohistological examination of other organs (dermis, kidney, skeletal muscle, thyroid, and parotid gland) indicated that a number of cell types of mesenchymal origin share an antigen(s) found on periodontal cells. The monoclonal antibodies described in this report should prove to be useful in studies of periodontal disease and guided tissue regeneration by providing both analytical reagents and immunochemical methods for isolating selected cell populations of the periodontium.

Cultivation of mammalian cells in heat-sealable pouches that are permeable to carbon dioxide

Petri plates, 96-well plates, and other unsealed culture vessels are the chief cause of air-borne contamination of cell cultures. In this study, heat-sealable plastic pouches that are permeable to CO2 and other gases are used as a means to avoid contamination. Several applications of heat-sealable pouches are described. First, petri plates can simply be sealed in a wide variety of plastic films that are permeable to CO2. Second, a few CO2-permeable plastic films can be used directly as substrata for mammalian cell growth and can also be cut with a simple hole punch for the isolation of clones. Third, one can grow cells in chemically sterilized carbonic acid solutions and thereby avoid the use of a CO2 incubator entirely.

Sensitivity of human oral tumor cells to human adenovirus

Human cells in early passage cultures of benign oral tumors, normal oral tissues, normal lung tissues and, especially, in long-term established oral carcinoma cultures were highly susceptible to infection by human adenovirus types 5, 21, and 31. In contrast, replication of each adenovirus type was markedly limited in inoculated cells of newly-established oral squamous cell carcinoma cultures.