[Differentiated murine F9 teratocarcinoma cells are susceptible to apoptosis upon contact with substrate].

Epithelial and endothelial cells are susceptible to a subset of apoptosis known as anoikis. This type of programmed cell death is activated upon disruption of cell-substrate contacts. Here we demonstrate that mouse F9 embryonal carcinoma cell line acquires susceptibility to anoikis upon retinoic acid-induced differentiation towards non-malignant pariental endoderm-like cells. F9 cells survival becomes dependent on the substrate by the 4th day of retinoic acid treatment, when cells assume epithelial phenotype as revealed by actin, alpha-actinin and vinculin expression and distribution, and when focal adhesion contacts are formed. Differentiated F9 cells die in suspension by apoptosis as revealed by oligonucleosomal DNA laddering, DAPI staining and DNA flow cytometry analysis. On the contrary, undifferentiated F9 cells form large multicellular aggregates in suspension and survive. Thus, F9 cell line provides a new model to study pathways involved in both anoikis induction and inhibition.