Clonal analysis of diversity in the BSp73 rat tumor

By implantation of BSp73 ascites cells in a subcutaneous site and subsequent subcutaneous passage of either the local tumor node or metastatic lung tissue, variants were obtained which differed with respect to morphology and to metastatic capacity. The highly metastasizing variant ASML showed spherical morphology in culture, while the nonmetastatic variant AS showed adhesion and spreading. Upon cloning it was observed that colonies with fully expressed morphotypes were readily obtained from solid tissue of both variants. Parental ascites as well as the tumor line derived from the primary solid tumor gave rise to stable expression of either morphotype only after prolonged culturing. Mixing of established clones did not result in an interclonal adaptation of growth rates in vivo. Further characterization of variants AS and ASML revealed marked differences in the outer cell surface. Adhesion of AS cells onto plastic was found to be mediated by fibronectin, laminin and 4 out of 5 collagen types. ASML cells showed adhesion only with collagen type III at higher concentrations. Cytogenetic analysis revealed that the adaptation of BSp73 cells to ascitic growth ultimately led to an increase in chromosome numbers, and this was conserved in ASML cells (modal number 63, range 49-74). AS cells on the other hand showed a modal number of 47 (range 45-49). The chromosome count distribution was rather narrow in ascites cells in vivo, but it was very broad in clones derived thereof, indicating that diversity was obtained in culture rather than in vivo. The data are compatible with the assumption that the nonmetastatic variant was not preexisting in BSp73 ascites but represents a stable phenotype which infrequently arises in a particular microenvironment by chromosome loss from a hyperdiploid parental population.