Intraclonal diversity of fibrosarcoma cells for the production of macrophage colony-stimulating factor and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor.

A new cell line was established from fibrosarcoma that had spontaneously developed in a mouse. The cells were maintained growing in culture for two years and constantly produced both macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) and granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Cloning of the cells by anchorage-independent colony formation gave subclones showing the activity of producing M-CSF and G-CSF in different proportions, whereas no subclone produced G-CSF without producing M-CSF simultaneously. Recloning of the bipotential subclones again gave clonal derivatives producing two types of CSF in various proportions. The observed heterogeneity of the cloned cells seems to be an epigenetic phenomenon, because the cells resumed the G-CSF producing activity in the absence of cell proliferation. After equilibrium was achieved, all of the subclones produced both M-CSF and G-CSF nearly in equal proportions. Tumorigenic and leukocytosis-inducing activity of the cloned cells was nearly comparable with the activity of the original tumor cells.