The use of survival in aggregation to detect potential carcinogens with retrovirus-infected fischer rat embryo cells

Abstract

SUMMARY: A sensitive and rapid transformation assay procedure is described. The end point, cell survival in aggregation, is measured by counting viable cells dissociated from aggregates in suspension for 4 d. When cells, previously treated with increased concentrations of a carcinogen, are suspended in liquid medium above an agar base, aggregates are formed, while untreated and solvent control cells remain primarily as single cells and show a rapid decline in cell survival; cells that had been treated with chemical carcinogen survive longer in suspension. When used as a marker for in vitro transformation, this end point can assess the carcinogenic potential of an agent.