A free-radical hypothesis for the instability and evolution of genotype and phenotypein vitro

摘要

It has been known for several decades that cultured murine cells undergo a defined series of changes, i.e., anin vitro evolution, which includes crisis, spontaneous transformation (‘immortalization’), aneuploidy, and spontaneous neoplastic transformation. These changes have been shown to be caused by thein vitro environment rather than an inherent instability of the murine phenotype or genotype. Serum amine oxidases were recently identified as a predominant cause of crisis. These enzymes generate hydrogen peroxide from polyamine substrates that enter the extracellular milieu. This finding implicates free-radical toxicity as the underlying cause ofin vitro evolution. We propose an oxyradical hypothesis to explain each of the stages ofin vitro evolution and discuss its significance for cytotechnology and long-term cultivation of mammalian cell types.