The IgH-2 line was established from the heart tissue of an immature male green iguana (Iguana iguana). IgH-2 cells exhibit many of the typical characteristics of epithelial cells and are often used to propagate viruses. Testing indicates that the cells can support the replication of various iguana viruses as well as the herpes simplex virus, pseudorabies virus, and vaccinia virus. Cultured IgH-2 cells are known to be resistant to the growth of poliovirus 1 and vesicular stomatitis (Indiana strain). The cells are negative for the enzyme reverse transcriptase, an indicator of the lack of integral retrovirus genomes.

Because of their status as non-mammalian vertebrates, reptiles can provide pertinent information regarding evolutionary history not obtainable from the study of rats, mice, and other common laboratory animals. Similarly the study of reptilian cells, such as IgH-2 cells, offers a unique opportunity to scientists seeking to broaden the understanding of cells in general by discovering similarities and differences between lower vertebrate cells and higher vertebrate cells. For many years the potential of studying reptilian cells was largely unrealized, but there has been increased interest in employing them for various research purposes over the last decade. IGH-2 cells have recently been employed to study, for instance, non-mammalian insulin biology and endocrinology.

The culture of IgH-2 epithelial cells illustrated in the digital image above was labeled for mitochondria with MitoTracker Red CMXRos and for the cytoskeletal filamentous actin network with Alexa Fluor 488 conjugated to phalloidin, a cyclic peptide derived from the toxic death cap fungus (Amanita phalloides). In addition, the cells were counterstained for DNA in the cell nucleus with Hoechst 33242. Images were recorded in grayscale with a 12-bit digital camera coupled to a Nikon Eclipse 80i microscope equipped with bandpass emission fluorescence filter optical blocks. During the processing stage, individual image channels were pseudocolored with RGB values corresponding to each of the fluorophore emission spectral profiles.