Michael J. Carvan, III1; Michael Santostefano2; Stephen Safe2; David Busbee1
An epithelial cell line, Carvan dolphin kidney (CDK), isolated from a
prematurely born female bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, exhibited growth characteristics
not previously reported for cetacean cells in culture. CDK cells were cytokeratin positive and
demonstrated a maximum doubling time of 1.31 days, with plating and colony forming efficiencies
approaching 100% for the early population doublings. Despite an unusually efficient colony
forming ability and rapid growth, these cells were neither transformed nor immortal, displaying
normal contact inhibition, anchorage dependence and the requirement for high concentrations of
fetal bovine serum in the growth medium. CDK cells exhibited age-dependent changes in growth
rate, colony forming efficiency and cytoplasmic profile, and showed a finite lifespan of about
50 population doublings and a stable 2N = 44 karyotype which correlates with previously reported
cytogenetic analyses. Velocity sedimentation analysis showed that CDK cells contained nuclear
aryl hydrocarbon (Ah) receptor, indicating their potential to be induced for cytochrome P450.
These data suggest that CDK cells may have utility as an in vitro toxicological model for
evaluating hydrocarbon contaminant effects on Tursiops truncatus, a protected marine mammal.