Lymphoblastoid cell lines: a continuous in vitro source of cells to study carcinogen sensitivity and DNA repair

Obtaining a continuous source of normal cells or DNA from a single individual has always been a rate limiting
step in biomedical research. Availability of Lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) as a surrogate for isolated or
cryopreserved peripheral blood lymphocytes has substantially accelerated the process of biological
investigations. LCLs can be established by in vitro infection of resting B cells from peripheral blood with
Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) resulting in a continuous source, bearing negligible genetic and phenotypic alterations.
Being a spontaneous replicating source, LCLs fulfil the requirement of constant supply of starting material for
variety of assays, sparing the need of re-sampling. There is a reason to believe that LCLs are in close
resemblance with the parent lymphocytes based on the ample supporting observations from a variety of studies
showing significant level of correlation at molecular and functional level. LCLs, which carry the complete set of
germ line genetic material, have been instrumental in general as a source of biomolecules and a system to carry
out various immunological and epidemiological studies. Furthermore, in recent times their utility for analysing
the whole human genome has extensively been documented. This proves the usefulness of LCLs in various
genetic and functional studies. There are a few contradictory reports that have questioned the employment of
LCLs as parent surrogate. Regardless of some inherent limitations LCLs are increasingly being considered as an
important resource for genetic and functional research.