Basis for the acquisition of malignant potential by mouse cells cultivated in vitro.
Balb/c mouse embryo lines maintained in culture for over 200 generations under conditions that minimize cell-cell contact do not become tumorigenic. Lines cultivated under conditions where there is extensive cell contact become tumor-producing within 30 generations. The tissue-culture property that correlates best with tumorigenicity is the loss of contact inhibition of cell division.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D003585:Cell Biology; D002455:Cell Division; D002471:Cell Transformation, Neoplastic; D003260:Contact Inhibition; D046508:Culture Techniques; D003588:Cytopathogenic Effect, Viral; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000166:cytology; D051379:Mice; D009374:Neoplasms, Experimental / Q000209:etiology*; D013539:Simian virus 40 / Q000472:pathogenicity*