Open AccessLoss of proliferative calcium dependence: simple in vitro indicator of tumorigenicity.
Author(s) -
S.H.H. Swierenga,
J. F. Whitfield,
Shuichi Karasaki
Publication year - 1978
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.75.12.6069
Subject(s) - extracellular , calcium , in vitro , cell culture , carcinogen , biology , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biochemistry , genetics , organic chemistry
The proliferative activities of three lines of "normal" epithelioid rat liver cells and six tumorigenic liver cell lines in the presence of a wide range of calcium concentrations were measured by a simple colony forming assay. The proliferative activities of the normal cells and, to a lesser extent, of the cells of a marginally tumorigenic line were directly proportional to the extracellular calcium concentration. The proliferative activities of the cells of the strongly tumorigenic lines, on the other hand, were either uninfluenced by or inversely proportional to the extracellular calcium concentration. Thus, the proliferative response to the extracellular calcium concentration is a sensitive indicator of the carcinogenic potential of liver cells.