Emergence of an irreversible differentiated subclone from the poorly differentiated ovarian adenocarcinoma cell line AMOC-2 treated with sodium butyrate.

OBJECTIVE

To cast light on the capacity of an ovarian adenocarcinoma to undergo irreversible cellular differentiation, we established clonal cell lines from cultured ovarian carcinoma cells treated with sodium butyrate and examined their phenotypic changes.

METHODS

The poorly differentiated ovarian carcinoma cell line AMOC-2 was exposed to 2 mM sodium butyrate for 30 days, and clonal cell lines were established by a dilution plating technique.

RESULTS

Five clonal cell lines were established. One of them had a longer doubling time and lower plating efficiency than the parental clone, also demonstrating stronger expression of vimentin and 56 kD cytokeratin. This clone became columnar with pronounced polarity, formed gland-like structures when cultured in collagen gels, and exhibited no tumorigenicity, in contrast to the parental clone.

CONCLUSION

Sodium butyrate treatment of AMOC-2 cells can cause phenotypic changes reminiscent of maturation in the Müllerian duct, endocervix, and/or endometrium.