Inventors:
David Levy - New York NY
Peter Palese - Leonia NJ
Adolfo Garcia-Sastre - New York NY
Joan Elizabeth Durbin - Columbus OH
Assignee:
Mount Sinai School of Medicine - New York NY
New York University - New York NY
International Classification:
C12N 500
US Classification:
435325, 4352351, 435352, 435455
Abstract:
The present invention is directed to immortalized STAT1-deficient mammalian cell lines. STAT1 is a signal transducer and activator of transcription that becomes phosphorylated when cells are treated with type I or type II interferons and leads to induction of specific gene expression, resulting in establishment of the antiviral state and the other known biological responses to interferons, including the inhibition of cell proliferation. Cells which lack this gene product are useful for producing high titers of viral stocks, for producing recombinant viral vectors, for testing samples, especially clinical samples for the presence of virus and for screening candidate compounds or drugs for anti-viral activity.