Characterisation of the osteoblastic phenotype by the use of differential hybridization.

To identify genes active in cells of the osteoblast lineage we have begun to characterise the phenotype of the rat osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cell line ROS 17/2.8. We have used the method of differential hybridization to identify cDNA clones encoding mRNA species which are expressed in ROS 17/2.8 cells but not in a non-osteoblast-like osteosarcoma cell line (ROS 25/1). We have identified a number of gene products exhibiting this pattern of expression.