Responsiveness of fetal rat brain cells to glia maturation factor during neoplastic transformation in cell culture

The effect of partially purified extracts from adult pig brains containing a glia maturation protein factor (BE) has been investigated on neural cells during carcinogenesis. Pregnant BD IX-rats were given a single transplacental dose of the carcinogen ethylnitrosourea (EtNU) on the 18th day of gestation. The brains of the treated fetuses were transferred to cell culture and underwent neoplastic transformation with a characteristic sequence of phenotypic alterations which could be divided into five different stages. During the first 40 days after explantation (stage I & II) BE induced morphological differentiation of epitheloid neural cells into astrocytes. This occurred in carcinogen treated cells as well as in untreated control cultures. At the same time cells with astrocyte morphology showed accumulation of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFA) as tested by indirect immunofluorescence with monospecific antibodies against GFA. Thereafter, in the EtNU pre-treated cultures an increased number of cells with astrocyte morphology was seen, and BE further increased the number of cells with long cytoplasmic processes. Control cells were GFA negative, while some few strongly, as well as many weakly, positive cells were seen after treatment with BE (stage III). At the later stages of neoplastic transformation the effect of BE became gradually less, and in tumourigenic cells which occurred after about 200-300 days, only a slight morphological change took place in a few cell lines. No appreciable effect on GFA-content was seen any longer, although some few weakly GFA positive cells could be observed in all permanent cell lines. Fetal rat brain cells therefore seem to become less responsive to this differentiation inducer during neoplastic transformation in cell culture.