Teratocarcinoma cells exhibit growth cooperativity in vitro

Malignant PC13 embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells differentiate in vitro in response to retinoic acid, giving rise to a population of benign endoderm-like cells (END), termed PC13 END. PC13 EC and PC13 END cells exhibit growth cooperativity in co-culture, whereby the EC cells stimulate END cell proliferation and the END cells can support EC cell multiplication. The EC cells' stimulatory effect operates via soluble, diffusible factors which are also active on a range of fibroblast cell lines. END cells support the multiplication of EC cells plated at low density, via a multifactorial mechanism. Contact-dependent effects can operate in the absence of END cell metabolic activity, while contact-independent effects require the continuous presence of live END cells. It was observed that there was a variation in the ability of fibroblast cell lines to act as EC cell feeders. Similar interactive events may be important during the in vivo proliferation and differentiation of teratocarcinoma cells and their embryonic counterparts.