title: Characterization of a spontaneously transformed pulmonary embryonic rat (PER) epithelial cell line.
abstract: A spontaneously transformed pulmonary embryonic rat epithelial cell line (PER) is described in terms of growth, tumorigenicity, growth factor responsiveness and biosynthetic capacity. At low-passage subcultures, PER cells grew as a monolayer and did not form colonies in soft agar. After long-term subcultivation, they lost contact inhibition, became anchorage-independent and formed tumours in nude mice. Low concentrations of foetal calf serum permit the maximum growth rate. The multiplication and metabolic activity, assessed by 2-deoxy-D-glucose uptake, was significantly stimulated by growth factors. PER cells synthesized collagen types I, III, IV and V, laminin and fibronectin, and organized a pericellular matrix made up of only basement membrane components (type IV collagen and laminin) and fibronectin. These data enabled us to define PER cells as a transformed epithelial cell line evolving towards malignancy with long-term subcultivation. These cells appeared to be a valuable tool in studies of tumour cell-matrix interactions and regulation of growth factor receptors in tumorigenesis.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Dermatologie Expérimentale, Université de Liège, Belgium.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paye
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Etievant
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Michiels
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pierard
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Nusgens
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Lapière
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002455:Cell Division; D002460:Cell Line / Q000502:physiology*; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D003094:Collagen / Q000096:biosynthesis; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004848:Epithelium / Q000648:ultrastructure; D005353:Fibronectins / Q000096:biosynthesis; D008168:Lung / Q000196:embryology / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D008856:Microscopy, Fluorescence; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains
chemical_list: D005353:Fibronectins; D003094:Collagen