In vitro cultivation of a chemically induced epidermal carcinoma: establishment of three cell lines and isolation of murine leukemia virus

Establishment of two cell lines from hamster buccal pouch tumors induced by topical 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene and topical DMBA in conjunction with herpes simplex virus infection

Two cell lines designated HBPC-1 and HBPC-2 have been established from hamster buccal pouch tumors induced by topical 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) and DMBA in conjunction with type 1 herpes simplex virus infection, respectively. The cells are epithelial in morphology, have a doubling time of approximately 18 h, and require bovine serum for optimal growth. The karyotype is aneuploid, with several marker chromosomes, and the cells produce squamous cell carcinomas when transplanted into normal hamster pouch tissues.

Malignant conversion of murine squamous papilloma cell lines by transfection with the fos oncogene

Murine papilloma cell lines 308 and SP-1 have been used as recipients for transfected oncogenes to investigate malignant conversion. These cell lines express an activated c-rasHa gene with a codon 61 mutation and produce squamous papillomas when transplanted as skin grafts onto nude mice. They are not tumorigenic by subcutaneous injection. Both papilloma cell lines were stably transfected with plasmid DNA containing either a rearranged murine plasmacytoma-derived c-myc (minus exon 1), adenovirus 5 E1A, FBJ v-fos or a human c-fos/FBJ v-fos chimera, using cotransfection with the neomycin resistance gene contained in pSV2neo to select for transformants. Southern and northern blotting analysis confirmed the uptake and expression of exogenous DNA in both G418-selected cell lines and in the derived tumors. Unlike the E1A- and myc-containing plasmids, both fos constructs caused malignant conversion in either cell line, as defined by the squamous cell carcinoma histology of tumors from grafted cells and the development of carcinomas after subcutaneous injection into athymic nude mice. Immunofluorescence analysis for specific keratin gene expression indicated that tumors derived by introduction of either of the fos oncogenes were devoid of staining for K1, a 67 kDa epidermal keratin that is expressed in papillomas but not in squamous carcinomas. Tumors from E1A, myc, or pSV2neo transfectants expressed K1, although in a focal distribution. The malignant phenotype induced by the fos oncogene constructs was not associated with the ability to form agar colonies in vitro or to express gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase in the tumors. Since both 308 and SP-1 were sensitive to the fos oncogene for malignant conversion and insensitive to E1A or myc, it is possible that fos may cooperate with the endogenous-activated c-rasHa gene to convert these cells to malignancy. However, since gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity is found in the majority of chemically induced mouse skin carcinomas that possess an activated c-rasHa gene, fos activation may not be a common pathway for spontaneous malignant conversion.

Cutaneous chemical carcinogenesis: past, present, and future

Skin tumors chemically induced in mice have provided an important experimental model for studying carcinogenesis and for bioassaying carcinogenic agents. The information obtained from this model suggests that the events leading to tumor formation can be divided into at least two stages, initiation and promotion. A single small dose of carinogen produces initiation which appears to be irreversible. These initiating agents may have to be metabolically activated and can interact with cellular macromolecules. The extent to which they bind to DNA correlates well with their carcinogenicity. Increased DNA replication at the time of or during the first day after these agents have been applied appears to enhance carcinogenesis. Unlike initiation, promotion appears to be reversible and the promoting agents must be applied repeatedly before tumors are formed. Promoters interact with membranes, stimulate and alter genetic expression, and increase the rate of cell proliferation. The knowledge gained from these studies in mouse skin has immeasurably helped the entire field of chemical carcinogenesis. But efforts to determine the cellular and molecular mechanisms involved in the carcinogenic process, particularly in the skin, have been hampered by the difficulties of working on whole animals and by the special problems associated with the biologic and biochemical methods required for this target organ. Such problems, however, can be solved by the use of cell cultures of mouse epidermis which can metabolize and bind carcinogens just as is done in vivo. The fact that epidermal cells in vitro proliferate synchronously should facilitate the study of the relation between the cell cycle and carcinogenesis. These cells repair chemically induced DNA damage by at least two mechanisms, excision repair and base-specific repair. When epidermal cells in vitro are exposed to promoting agents, a proliferative response analogous to that in vivo is elicited, apparently mediated through control of polyamine metabolism. Neoplastic transformation has been induced in these cultures by known skin carcinogens.