Lifespan extension of basal cell nevus syndrome fibroblasts by transfection with mouse pro or v-myc genes

Biology of basal cell carcinoma (Part II)

Host-tumor relationships involve several factors that can enhance or suppress neoplastic growth. This second part of a review of basal cell carcinoma biology examines the role that hormones, cytokines, local and systemic immunity, congenital and genetic syndromes, and environmental factors play in the development of this neoplasm. Theories of etiology and pathogenesis are discussed, and transplantation and cell culture techniques used to study this cancer are explored. Valuable second-line therapies for treatment of multiple tumors are reviewed, and important areas of present and future research are emphasized.

Transfection of primary human skin fibroblasts by electroporation

Primary human skin fibroblasts are an accessible source of phenotypically and karyotypically normal human cells, but are difficult to transfect with exogenous DNA. Here we demonstrate that both transient expression and stable transformation can be carried out by the method of electroporation. Highly efficient transient chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression was shown after transfection with plasmid pRSVCAT. Stable transformation of human skin fibroblasts to G418 resistance was obtained after electroporation with neo-containing plasmids at an efficiency of approximately 1.4 x 10(-5)/micrograms DNA. The ability to easily transfect these cells with exogenous DNA may have important applications in the study of human genetic diseases and cancer.