Analysis of clonal evolution in a tumor consisting of pSV2neo-transfected mouse fibrosarcoma clones

The process of clonal evolution was analyzed in a line of methylcholanthrene-induced mouse fibrosarcomas. The tumor cells were transfected with pSV2neo gene and 22 clones were randomly isolated. Genetically tagged clones were mixed and inoculated into syngeneic mice. Southern blot analysis revealed that one of the clones, no. 11, dominated both in tumors in situ and in lung metastatic nodules. No. 11 clone and other clones were similar in growth rates in vitro and in vivo, in spontaneous and experimental metastatic abilities, in immunogenicity, and in the capacity of intercellular communication in vitro. Although no. 11 clone overgrew other clones in vivo, this was not the case when clones were mixed and maintained in vitro. We conclude that clonal interactions in vivo may be responsible for the dominance of no. 11 clone in the tumor. It is likely that the preferential metastasis of no. 11 clone to the lung may be a simple reflection of the proliferative advantage of the dominant clone in the tumor in situ.