title: Growth, morphology and chemosensitivity studies on postconfluent cells cultured in 'V'-bottomed microtiter plates.
abstract: This study assessed the growth pattern, cellular organisation and chemosensitivity of established human tumour cell lines growing as postconfluent cultures in 'V'-bottomed, 96-well microtiter plates. Cross-sections of the colon (HT29, SW620, SW1116), ovarian (A2780) and head and neck (UM-SCC-22B) carcinoma microcultures allowed in situ evaluation of the cellular organisation in the wells. After 5 days of growth, every cell line had reached confluence, but each of them displayed a specific pattern of cell stacking which ranged from two to ten layers. Postconfluent HT29 cells displayed morphologic features suggestive of some degree of enterocytic differentiation. Growth and cytotoxicity could be studied reliably and reproducibly in this system with the sulforhodamine B protein assay. Against HT29 postconfluent cultures, the EC50's (drug concentrations producing absorbance readings 50% lower than those of non-treated wells) of 5-fluorouracil and of the ether lipid, hexadecylphosphocholine, were 1 mM and 50 microM respectively. The possibility to perform chemosensitivity tests using semiautomated microtiter plate technology supports further evaluation of this system as an alternative antitumour drug testing model.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, Free University Hospital, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
authors.forename: P E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Pizao
authors.forename: D M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Lyaruu
authors.forename: G J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: van Ark-Otte
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Winograd
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Giaccone
authors.forename: H M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Pinedo
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D002455:Cell Division; D003110:Colonic Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor / Q000379:methods*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D010051:Ovarian Neoplasms / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000473:pathology; D012235:Rhodamines; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D012235:Rhodamines; C022027:lissamine rhodamine B