Absence of interferon production in a newly established human cell line.

A cell line established from human embryonic lung, HEL-R66, was demonstrated to be highly susceptible to herpes simplex virus types 1 and 2, vaccinia virus, Newcastle disease virus (NDV), Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV), western equine encephalitis (WEE) virus, Sindbis virus, vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV), and rabies virus. The maximal yields of NDV, JEV, WEE virus, and rabies virus in this cell line exceeded by 2--4 logs those in control human embryonic lung cells. Inability of this cell line to produce interferon upon treatment with native and UV-irradiated forms of virogenic and lentogenic strains of NDV and with poly I:C was revealed. A refractory state to challenging VSV did not develop in HEL-R66 cells treated with the inducers. Furthermore, pretreatment of HEL-R66 cells with interferon did not potentiate the capacity to produce interferon in response to the addition of poly I:C, whereas the same treatment enhanced the production of interferon in normal human embryonic lung cells.