Collagenase synthesis in clonal monkey kidney epithelial cells (JTC-12 cells)

Cells of clone JTC-12 derived from monkey kidney epithelial cells were found to produce latent collagenase in serum-containing cultures. Collagenase production by JTC-12 cells was stimulated more than ten-fold with the addition of 12-0-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate. The JTC-12 cell collagenase was purified 2,370-fold over the conditioned medium to a specific activity of 5,940 units/mg with a yield of 79% by heparin-Sepharose, ion-exchange and immunoadsorption chromatography. Thus the JTC-12 cell culture appears to be a useful model for studying the initial degradation of surrounding connective tissues by epithelial tissue in carcinogenesis.