Ultraviolet irradiation transforms C3H10T1/2 cells to a unique, suppressible phenotype

Transformation of C3H10T1/2 cells by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) irradiation followed by tetradecanoyl phorbol acetate (TPA) has been used as a model of two-stage carcinogenesis. However, cells cloned from UV-TPA-induced foci (UV-TDTx cells) had a unique phenotype. Cloned UV-TDTx cells appeared transformed in pure culture but were unable to form foci when cocultured with C3H10T1/2 cells. However, in the presence of TPA, UV-TDTx cells form foci in mixed culture with C3H10T1/2 cells. This phenotype was the only one observed for UV-TPA transformants. These data suggest that communal suppression of cell division is a discrete phenomenon that must be overcome as one step in the multistage process of transformation, and this protocol permits the routine isolation of transformed cells responsive to density-dependent growth suppression.