Taenia crassiceps cysticerci were disrupted through trypsinization to isolate cells which can be maintained in culture for up to 15 days. When injected intraperitoneally into susceptible BALB/cAnN mice, complete cysticerci were recovered in a number that is proportional to the quantity of injected cells. Thus, cysticerci contain cells which can reconstitute complete cysts, suggesting that individual cells play a role, independent to budding, during asexual multiplication of T. crassiceps cysticerci in the peritoneal cavity of mice. In contrast, injection of the cells into resistant C57BL/6J mice does not result in the recovery of complete cysts. These findings provide a new experimental model to identify resistance factors in the hosts, for the in vitro screening of anti-cysticerci drugs and for the genetic manipulation of cysticerci through recombinant DNA techniques.