The Effects of Insecticides on Insect Cells Grown in Vitro

Abstract

In 1958, one of us (Grace) placed some DDT crystals of high purity into several primary cultures of insect cells and was amazed to see that the cells multiplied and the tissues remained healthy, despite the fact that many of them were lying on or alongside the DDT crystals. The medium was removed after about 6 days, a series of dilutions made and six mosquito larvae were added to each dilution. At a dilution of 1/1000 the larvae died within 17hrs and at dilutions below about 1/250 the larvae were killed in 20min. to 1 hr. There was no doubt, therefore, that the medium contained DDT in solution and there was every reason to believe also that the DDT would have been taken in by the cells. Although the results were not very encouraging, the opportunity came in 1968 to investigate the effect of 20 insecticides on the growth of cells from the established cell lines of the moth Antheraea eucalypti and the mosquito Aedes aegypti. No attempt was made to determine the mode of action of the insecticides.