Effect of sub-optimal temperatures on survival of mammalian cells

When survival at low temperatures, in terms of colony-forming ability, is measured in Chinese hamster lung cells (V79), it varies inversely with temperature in the 10–25 °C range; i.e. survival at 10 °C is greater than that at 25 °C. These survival-time curves on semi-log plots have a “shoulder” region followed by a linear region. Survival at these temperatures varies inversely with the macromolecular synthesis rate. Results with cells at 5 °C break the above patterns.