ESTABLISHMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMAN MALIGNANT PLEURAL MESOTHELIOMA CELL LINE SMC-1

A cell line (SMC-1) has been established from the resected tissue of a patient with malignant pleural mesothelioma which has been pathologically confirmed to be the mixed type. The cell line is characterized by the pleomorphy and multilaycred growth of the cells with the population-doubling time of approximately 32h, the highest mitotic index of 46—50‰ and the modal chromosome number of 69—70. Transplantation of the cells into the anireals can produce tumors bearing histological resemblance to the original material. The cultured cells, xenografted tumor cells and the cells from the host specimen show similar histochemical expressions. These data meet the requirements of a human malignant pleural mesothelioma cell line. The establishment of this cell line will serve as a useful tool in clinical research of diagnosis and treatment of this devastating disease.