Effect of a collagen substrate on the growth and development of normal and tumorigenic rat urothelial cells

The growth and morphology of 4 tumorigenic rat urothelial cell lines grown on collagen-coated nylon discs was characterized and compared to normal cells. In contrast to cells cultured on a plastic substrate with or without a thin 'nonporous' collagen coating, tumor cells grown on porous collagen-coated nylon discs: 1) grew to greater protein densities; 2) formed tissue structures characteristic for the type of tumor they developed upon back-transplantation; and 3) could be grown and cultured indefinitely without subculturing. Thus, similarly to normal urothelial stratification and differentiation in vitro, tumorigenic cells apparently require a 'porous' collagen substrate to allow differentiation analogous to that observed in vivo.