Jurkat cells

Jurkat cells are an immortalized line of human T lymphocyte cells that are used to study acute T cell leukemia, T cell signaling, and the expression of various chemokine receptors susceptible to viral entry, particularly HIV. Jurkat cells can, upon stimulation by phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) or other stimulants such as phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA or simply phorbol), express interleukin 2, and are used in research involving the susceptibility of cancers to drugs and radiation. However in the general case chronic phytohaemagglutinin kills Jurkat cells, though Jurkat clones can be devised which resist PHA-induced killing. The object of the system is that Jurkat cells can react to a signal and their expression can be measured. Jurkat cells with elements missing or knocked out can then provide a basis for examining the importance of that element on the expression of interleukin 2.