Preliminary Validation of Tumor Cell Attachment Inhibition Assay for Developmental Toxicants With Mouse S180 Cells

Key words: 
• cell attachment /
• inhibitory activity /
• inhibitory effects /
• tumor cells /
• cell model /
• cell lines

Abstract: This study was designed to explore the possibility of using ascitic mouse sarcoma cell line(S180) to validate the mouse tumor cell attachment assay for developmental toxicants, and to test the inhibitory effects of various developmental toxicants. The results showed that 2 of 3 developmental toxicants under consideration, sodium pentobarbital and ethanol, significantly inhibited S180cells attachment to Concanavalin A-coated surfaces. Inhibition was dependent on concentration, and the IC5o(the concentration that reduced attachment by 50% ), of these 2 chemicals was 1.2 ×10-3 mol/L and 1.0 mol/L, respectively. Another developmental toxicant, hydrocortisone, did not show inhibitory activity. Two non-developmental toxicants, sodium chloride and glycine were also testedand these did not decrease attachment rates. The main results reported here were generally similar to those obtained with ascitic mouse ovarian tumor cells as a model. Therefore, this study added further evidence to the conclusion that cell specificity does not limit attachment inhibition to Con A-coated surfaces, so S180 cell may serve as an alternative cell model, especially when other cell lines are unavailable. Furthermore, after optimal validation, it can be suggested that an S180 cell attachment assay may be a candidate for a series of assays to detect developmental toxicants.