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Abstract

This invention provides useful solid chimeric organs as well as animal models having such solid chimeric organs and processes for their preparation. Such organs find significant value and use in developing new models for disease, drug and therapeutic investigations and monitoring, and in studying storage functions and processes. The solid chimeric organs are comprised of recipient cells and donor cells, the latter themselves comprising allogeneic or xenogeneic cells which are unmodified or modified to contain one or more nucleic acid segments capable of exhibiting at least one biological property, e.g. DNA synthesis, replication, promoter function, transcription, translation, reverse transcription, and the like, non-native to the donor cell. The solid chimeric organs can be prepared from recipient organs using recipient cells and implanted allogeneic or xenogeneic donor cells from non-homologous organs or tissues. Also provided by this invention are non-tumorigenic immortalized human cell lines modified by having sequences derived from hepatotrophic viruses introduced into the cells. Susceptible cells, cytopathic mammalian viruses, target cells rendered susceptible to cytopathic events, and human cells infected or transfected by noncytopathic viruses are also provided.

First Claim