In vitro transformation of chicken bone marrow cells with avian erythroblastosis virus.

An in vitro transformation of bone marrow cells has been demonstrated for two strains of avian erythroblastosis virus (AEV-R and AEV-ES4). The transformed cells were indistinguishable from in vivo transformed erythroblasts in morphology and staining characteristics and could be propagated to large numbers. The transformation efficiency could be greatly increased by the addition of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). The number of foci appearing in the presence of DMSO was proportional to the virus concentration.