Abstract
Summary
The morphological effects of exposure to hydrocortisone have been examined in two cell lines of liver origin by scanning electon microscopy. In one of these, an aneuploid line derived from a Morris hepatoma, the presence of hormone results not only in a suppression of cell proliferation, but in a marked flattening of the cells and loss of surface microvilli; in the other cell line, a diploid line derived from adult rat liver, the suppression of cell division is less marked, and the morphological effects of the hormone are far less striking. While the suppression of cell division in both of these cell lines is known to be rapidly reversible upon the removal of hormone, the presence of hormone causes the hepatoma cells to assume both monolayer growth characteristics and a morphology resembling those of cells derived from normal liver.
This work was supported in part by United States Public Health Service Grants GM-15289, HD-05506, AM-05397, and CA-12536, and by the Perkin Memorial Fund of The Presbyterian Hospital in the City of New York. J.N.L. is the recipient of an Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist Award.
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