Cells have been isolated from liver tumours that have arisen in control C3H/He mice, in mice given 10 micrograms diethylnitrosamine (DEN) during the neonatal period or in mice given a diet containing phenobarbitone (PB) to allow a daily intake of 85 mg/kg/day. The cells were grown to the 8 degrees subculture when their growth characteristics were investigated in monolayer culture and following suspension in soft agar and on transplantation into nude mice. In addition, DNA was isolated from the cultures and from tumours that grew in nude mice and analysed for mutations at codon 61 of the Ha-ras oncogene. All cells derived from DEN-induced hepatocellular carcinomas (HCC) demonstrated a lack of density inhibition of growth in monolayer culture, grew in soft agar and formed tumours in nude mice with an average mean latency of 29 days. Three of the seven lines showed mutations in Ha-ras: two were CAA-->AAA transversions and one showed a CAA-->CTA transversion. In contrast, cells isolated from eosinophilic nodules in mice given PB showed inhibition of growth at confluence, did not grow in soft agar and only four of eight formed tumours in nude mice with a mean average latent period of 181 days. Cells grown from HCC in mice given PB showed a lack of density inhibition of growth, however, they did not grow in soft agar nor did they form tumours in nude mice. A single spontaneous HCC from a control mouse showed a similar growth pattern to HCC cells isolated from mice given PB. Cells from a basophilic nodule, taken from a control untreated mouse grew vigorously in culture and in soft agar and formed tumours in nude mice with a latency of 6 days. None of the cells isolated from control mice or from mice given PB showed evidence of mutations at codon 61 of Ha-ras. These data confirm that there are fundamental differences in the biology of cells grown from tumours that develop in mice under different treatment regimes. These studies also demonstrate the utility of cell culture and molecular biology in addressing the fundamental mechanism of mouse hepatic neoplasia.