The WIRL-3 rat liver cell lines and their transformed derivatives.

Summary Two epithelial cell lines were established from the liver of a weanling rat. The cells retained their epithelial morphology after transformation by simian virus 40. They also transformed spontaneously and grew to higher cell densities than the parent cultures or grew in suspension. The “normal” and transformed cell lines have some but not all the characteristics associated with hepatocytes. They have glucose 6-phosphatase activity, secrete serum globulin, and, in confluent monolayers, show tight cell junctions and intercellular canaliculi resembling bile canaliculi. On the other hand, the cells have low levels of inducible tyrosine aminotransferase, no detectable δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase and aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase activity that is inducible with benz(a)anthracene but not phenobarbital. The morphologically transformed cell lines produce tumors in the hamster cheek pouch, and a suspension culture derived from one of the lines produces an ascites and solid tumors when inoculated i.p. into rats. The tumors resemble hepatomas.