title: Retinoic acid-induced growth inhibition and morphologic differentiation of human neuroblastoma cells in vitro.
abstract: Retinoic acid (RA) induced concentration-dependent morphologic differentiation and growth inhibition in the LA-N-1 human neuroblastoma cell line. Time course studies demonstrated a significant increase in the formation of long neurites in LA-N-1 cultures within 48 hours of RA addition; maximum expression of differentiation occurred at approximately 4 days. This differentiation profile corresponded to a detectable decrease in [3H]thymidine incorporation at 48 hours and complete inhibition of cell growth after 3-4 days. The RA-induced morphologic differentiation and growth inhibition persisted despite removal of the drug. A soft agar assay system showed that RA also inhibited the ability of LA-N-1 cells to form anchorage-independent colonies and induced morphologic differentiation in colonies that did develop. These findings suggest that RA promoted the differentiation of LA-N-1 neuroblastoma cells, resulting in an altered expression of the malignant phenotype.
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000187:drug effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D002460:Cell Line; D004247:DNA / Q000096:biosynthesis; D006801:Humans; D008858:Microscopy, Phase-Contrast; D009447:Neuroblastoma / Q000473:pathology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014212:Tretinoin / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D014212:Tretinoin; D004247:DNA