Clonal variations in keratin. Intermediate filament expression by human somatic cell hybrids.

The intermediate filament composition of differentiated vertebrate cells provides a stable phenotype which appears to be specifically regulated in each cell type. In order to analyse the regulation of intermediate filament expression we have constructed human somatic cell hybrids from the fusion of the HeLa-derived cell line HEB7A and a normal human diploid fibroblast, GM2291. These parental cells differ with respect to the presence or absence of keratin intermediate filaments. Isolation of independently arising clones produced two classes of hybrids. One class expresses keratin in a stable manner and the other class lacks keratin altogether. Indirect immunofluorescence of hybrid cells using antikeratin antiserum demonstrates that there are variations in the intensity and organization of cytoskeletal keratin staining. SDS-PAGE comparisons of cell extracts from these hybrids indicates that there are quantitative differences in the relative amounts of individual keratin polypeptides as well. These clonal variations have allowed us to begin assessing the consequences of genetic interactions between cell types that are normally capable of closely regulating different subsets of intermediate filament genes.