ESTABLISHMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF 2 CELL-LINES DERIVED FROM A SINGLE HEPATOCELLULAR-CARCINOMA CONTAINING MULTIPLOID DNA DISTRIBUTION

Previous studies showed that patients with resectable multiploid hepat ocellular carcinoma (HCC) had lower overall survival rate and higher r ecurrent rate than did those with diploid or single aneuploid tumors a fter hepatic resection. We describe in this study the establishment an d characterization of cell lines derived from a single HCC nodule cont aining multiploid DNA distribution. Two human HCC cell lines, designat ed HAGS 2.1 and HAGS 2.2, were established by primary culture and sing le cell cloning methods from a patient with a multiploid HCC tumor. Bo th cell lines expressed bile canalicular domain-specific antigen of hu man hepatocyte. The HAGS 2.1 cells were spindle-shaped without promine nt intracellular vesicles and had a doubling time of 38 h with DNA plo idy of 4.4 N; cells of HAGS 2.2 were polygonal with many intracellular vesicles and had a doubling time of around 42 h with DNA ploidy of 5. 1 N. Hepatitis B surface antigen was detectable in HAGS 2.2 but negati ve in HAGS 2.1 cells. Both HAGS 2.1 and HAGS 2.2 expressed major histo compatibility complex (MHC) class I antigen, but the former expressed more MHC class II antigen than did the latter. Polymerase chain reacti on and subsequent single strain conformation polymorphism analysis dis closed the presence of preS and S regions and the absence of C and X r egions of HBV genome in cells of both HAGS 2.1 and HAGS 2.2. We conclu de that the establishment of cell lines derived from a single HCC tumo r containing multiploid DNA distribution might provide a good in vitro model to study the carcinogenesis and the recurrence mechanism of hum an hepatocellular carcinoma.