Invasive pattern and phenotypic properties of malignant neurogenic rats cells in vivo and in vitro
Mørk, S.; De Ridder, L.; Laerum, O.D.
Anticancer Research 2(1-2): 1-9
1982
ISSN/ISBN: 0250-7005 PMID: 7114799 Document Number: 188772
Twelve malignant neurogenic rat cell lines induced by the carcinogen ethylnitrosourea (EtNU) were investigated for invasiveness in an in vitro 3-dimensional culture system. The histological pattern of invasiveness into embryonic chick heart fragments was compared to the morphology in subcutaneous and intracerebral solid tumors as well as to other phenotypic properties of the cells. In all the cell lines invasiveness was seen in vivo and in vitro. The site of in vivo transplantation seemed to influence the tumor-host tissue interface, since intracerebral tumors were more sharply delimited than subcutaneous tumors and primary EtNU-induced CNS tumors. The histological patterns in vivo (glioma vs. neurinoma-like) were in most cases similar to invasive growth in vitro. The pattern of invasiveness did not correlate to other phenotypic properties of the cells (e.g. ploidy, doubling time, latency for tumor formation and surface microarchitecture). A rat fibroblastic cell line, RE-E was non-tumourigenic in rats and non-invasive in culture, but formed small subcutaneous tumors in nude mice.