Biological studies of ten human squamous carcinoma cell lines: an overview.

Ten cell lines established from surgical specimens of human squamous carcinomas of the tongue and larynx have been investigated with respect to their motility, ultrastructure, karyotypes, certain biochemical features, interaction with normal epithelial and stromal elements and capacity to infiltrate three-dimensional organoid systems. All the cell lines have maintained several morphological and biochemical characteristics indicating a common origin, although the extent to which each line displays this heritage is variable. The phenotypes of each of the individual cell lines are, however, notably stable. Data are provided for epithelial surface markers (including epidermal growth factor, EGF) and for the synthesis and release of prostaglandins and proteases which may be involved in invasive mechanisms. Encounters between the cell lines and organoid substrata (embryonic chick heart spheroids, human amnion, chick chorioallantoic membrane) are described: the results indicate a scale of invasiveness ranging from lack of penetration to full-thickness infiltration by cells showing various distinctive growth patterns. Correlation between in vitro and in vivo findings is discussed, and it is suggested that the biological heterogeneity of the lines may reflect inherent properties of the original carcinoma cell populations which are more distinctly expressed in vitro.

Tumor-associated desmoplasia in the rabbit mesentery characterized by morphological, biochemical and cytophotometric methods.

Intraperitoneal implantation of V2 carcinoma cells in the rabbit leads to invasion of the mesentery and to structural tissue alterations which are concomitantly of a destructive and a desmoplastic type. In this report, we describe the desmoplastic changes which are characterized by the increased formation of collagen and of proteoglycans resulting in an increased thickness of the membrane. Biochemical data indicate that the total amount of collagen increases with time after implantation, whereas the relative amount per unit of dry weight, as well as the contributions of type I (15-25%) and type III (6-8%), stay within the same range. The increased synthesis of extracellular matrix is accompanied by a change in the appearance of the fibroblasts which now show the morphologic features of synthesizing cells. Also, an appreciable number have entered the S-phase. We propose that the desmoplastic changes are tumor-associated, since implantation of epithelial cells from normal rabbit liver does not result in similar alteration. Our findings are discussed in view of the role played by tumor and/or host cells in the increased production of extracellular matrix, of possible factor(s) elaborated by the tumor cells, and of the general significance of desmoplastia for tumor spread.

Comparative chromosome analysis of nine squamous cell carcinoma lines from tumors of the head and neck.

The chromosomes of nine cell lines from human squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck were examined. Five of the lines were derived from patients who had received chemotherapy and radiotherapy, one line was derived from a lymph-node metastasis from one of these patients, and three lines were from patients who had not been treated. The cell lines from the untreated patients had lower modal chromosome numbers than those of all but one of the lines from the treated patients. A structural abnormality involving chromosome 1 with breakpoints located in p13, p22, q21, or q32 was found in all cases. The NRAS and SK oncogenes are located in or near some of these segments. In four of the cell lines the nucleolus organizer regions (NORs) were 10-30 times larger than the NORs of the normal human chromosomes. Double minutes (DM) and homogeneously staining regions (HSR) were found in four of the lines.