Expression of Developmentally Regulated Genes in Embryonal Carcinoma Cells

Abstract

Human and mouse embryonal carcinoma (EC) cell lines are widely used for analysis of early mammalian embryogenesis and germ cell neoplasia (Martin 1980; Andrews et al. 1983b). Using monoclonal antibodies raised against EC cells it has been shown that these cells express several cell surface epitopes shared with early embryonic cells. The first stem cell epitope identified by the hybridoma technology was the epitope of an antigen named stage-specific embryonic antigen 1 (SSEA-1; Solter and Knowles 1978). This epitope was found on mouse preimplantation stage embryos from the morula stage on and also in the brain and kidney and several other organs of adult mice. The epitope was expressed in all mouse EC cell lines and it disappeared from most of these cells during their differentiation in vitro. In contrast to mouse EC cells, the human EC cells expressed low amounts of SSEA-1, and during differentiation the amount of SSEA-1 was significantly increased (Andrews et al. 1983b). A number of other developmentally regulated epitopes have been discovered on the surface of mouse and human EC cells. Biochemical analysis of these epitopes revealed that they are carbohydrate portions of membrane glycoconjugates (for review, see Feizi 1985; Hakomori 1985; Muramatsu 1988).KeywordsEmbryonal CarcinomaEmbryonal Carcinoma CellTeratocarcinoma CellMouse Embryonal CarcinomaHuman Embryonal Carcinoma CellThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.