Clones of MRC-C cells may be superior to the parent line for the culture of 229E-like strains of human respiratory coronavirus

A clone was selected from the MRC-C continuous heteroploid cell line which was significantly better than MRC-C for the culture of human respiratory coronavirus (HCV) 229E, strain LP. Such clones could prove generally useful for the isolation of HCV-229E from clinical specimens, and for the propagation and assay of laboratory adapted strains.