Clonal sublines that are morphologically and functionally distinct from parental OK cells.

Three clonal subpopulations of opossum kidney (OK) cells were derived from the parental line. The distribution of apical microvilli suggested that the OK cell line was heterogeneous. The clonal OK sublines appeared homogeneous as reflected by microvilli, which were uniformly distributed on the apical surface. Parathyroid hormone (PTH), forskolin (FSK), and prostaglandin E1 (PGE1) increased adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP) formation in OK cells and all of the clones. PTH inhibited sodium-dependent phosphate transport in parental cells and in OK/B and OK/P clones with maximal effects appearing at 4, 2, and 1 h, respectively. PTH had no effect on phosphate transport in OK/H cells. FSK inhibited phosphate transport in parental cells and OK/B and OK/P clones but was relatively ineffective in OK/H cells. PGE1 decreased phosphate transport in OK/B and OK/P cells but was ineffective in the parental line and in OK/H cells. Phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, a potent inhibitor of phosphate transport in the parental OK cell line, had little effect in the clonal sublines. These clonal lines have remained phenotypically stable for 10 passages and should prove useful in studying the regulation of phosphate transport by PTH as well as addressing the question of whether PTH receptor subclasses exist which couple to cAMP and/or calcium effector systems in kidney cells.