Scanning electron microscopy of differentiated liver cells transformed in vitro by chemical carcinogens.

A scanning electron microscopy study was carried out on differentiated liver cells transformed in vitro by three chemical carcinogens into cells that give rise to carcinomas. The results indicate that the transformed cells grow as a rule in tightly adherent monolayers but differ in topography. There is a tendency toward heterogeneity in cell shape compared to the normal and on the whole toward a larger number of surface microvilli in the malignant cell population. However, both in sparse and confluent cultures the topographic differences are often not striking enough to unequivocally distinguish single neoplastic cells from the normal.