Antigenic changes in transformed FL human amnion cells.

An FL human amnion cell line, which has long been established as a continuous culture, underwent a spontaneous, `malignant' transformation. The transformation was associated with the loss of a primate-specific esterase isoenzyme, using both antigenic and enzymatic criteria. At the same time, a new, electrophoretically and antigenically distinct esterase was detected in the cell culture.