INVITRO CULTIVATION OF HUMAN TESTICULAR EMBRYONAL CARCINOMA AND ESTABLISHMENT OF A NEW CELL-LINE

  • 1 January 1979
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 70  (5) , 677-680
Abstract
Tissues from the surgical specimen of 7 patients with testicular embryonal carcinoma were cultivated in vitro. Among 7 primary cultures, initial growth of tumor cells was observed in 5 cases. One of them was successfully subcultured and a cell line, designated NEC-8, had been established. NEC-8 cells grow as a flat epithelial colony densely packed with polygonal cells and gradually pile up at the center of the colony. Ultrastructure of NEC-8 cell revealed desmosomes and microvilli at the cell membrane. The cytoplasm was characteristically rich in glycogen granules which corresponded with strong PAS [periodic acid-Schiff] reaction. The chromosome number of NEC-8 cells as passage 3 showed wide distribution from 70-183, with a mode of 85-88. Histology of the heterotransplant of NEC-8 cells into the hamster cheek pouch was that of adenocarcinoma resembling a part of the histology of the original tumor.