Establishment and transformation diminish the ability of fibroblasts to contract a native collagen gel.

Abstract

Cultures of established and transformed fibroblasts were less able to contract a hydrated collagen gel than normal precrisis cells. Postcrisis fibroblasts from different rodent strains and species underwent a further reduction in contraction ability after spontaneous or SV-40 transformation. Human precrisis fibroblasts contracted much more efficiently than 2 SV-40-transformed human lines. Fibroblasts from a patient with Glanzmann''s thrombasthenia were intermediate between all other human fibroblasts assayed and the SV-40-transformed human lines. The absolute efficiency of contraction was dependent on temperature and serum concentration, but no conditions were found that resulted in equal efficiencies for the 3 cell types. Precrisis cells were extremely sensitive to the passage procedures when assayed for collagen contraction.