Isolation and metastatic properties of detachment variants of B16 melanoma cells.

Variant clones of B16 melanoma cells have been isolated that detached from plastic tissue culture dishes either more or less readily than the parent line upon treatment with EDTA or ethyleneglycol-bis(b-amino ethyl ether)N,N'-tetraacetic acid. Cells that detached more readily were spindlier in culture than parent cells, covered less surface area per cell, and formed fewer pulmonary tumors when injected iv into C57BL/6J mice. Cells that detached less readily were flatter in culture and formed more pulmonary tumors when injected iv than the parent cells. After detachment with EDTA, the cells reattached to culture dishes at the same rate.