Production of mammalian somatic cell hybrids by means of polyethylene glycol treatment.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is known to promote fusion of plant protoplasts. Various adaptations of this treatment to mammalian, including human, cell cultures are reported here. PEG is very effective in producing hybrids capable of indefinite multiplication even in cases, such as early passage human skin fibroblasts and lymphocytes, known to be highly recalcitrant to other treatments.