Type C virus particles in a cord T-cell line derived by co-cultivating normal human cord leukocytes and human leukaemic T cells

A recent nationwide survey of the lymphocyte subpopulations of leukaemia and lymphoma in Japan has disclosed a high incidence of adult T-cell leukaemia (ATL)¹. One of the striking features of this disease is the clustering of patients in the southwestern part of Japan^1,2. We have established a continuous culture line of leukaemic T cells from a patient with ATL^3,4. This cell line, MT-1, was found to carry type C virus particles and ATL-associated antigens (ATLA) which specifically reacted with sera from all ATL patients and about 25% of healthy adults in the endemic area⁵. We report here that by co-culture of ATL cells from a female patient and normal human cord leukocytes from a male infant, a T-cell line of cord leukocyte origin was established. Numerous type C virus particles as well as ATLA were detected in this cell line.