Abstract
Abstract
The transformation of a normal cell into a malignant cell is generally recognized as a multistep process involving genetic alterations in multiple genes in a progressive, stepwise manner (1, 2). The progression of cells toward malignancy can be studied in cell culture models of neoplasia. The advantage of this approach is that it allows one to select and isolate cells at different stages of the process for biochemical, molecular, and cellular studies.
One of the best-characterized cell culture models of neoplastic progression utilizes the Syrian hamster embryo cells, which have a low frequency of spontaneous transformation but can be neoplastically transformed by treatment with chemical carcinogens (3). It was shown several years ago that the transformation of the cells in culture is a multistep, progressive process (4), and the cellular, biochemical, and molecular changes of cells at different stages have been described (2, 3, 5-8).
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