ESTABLISHMENT OF 3 RAT SOFT-TISSUE TUMOR-CELL LINES WITH DIFFERENT DEGREES OF MYOGENIC DIFFERENTIATION

Soft tissue malignancies often show divergent differentiation, includi ng myogenic lineage. Five mt tumors induced with 20-hydroxymethylchola nthrene (20-OH-MCA), were cultured in vitro, and three cell lines (YMC -1, YMC-2, YMC-3) were established from them. YMC-2 and -3 cells were spindle-shaped, and YMS-1 cells round and epithelioid. In confluency, YMC-3 cells formed myotubes. The nude mouse xenotransplants showed mor phological features consistent with their myogenic phenotypes. Muscle- specific enzyme activities were highest in YMC-3 cells. These fines ma y be useful in the investigation of the myogenic differentiation of un differentiated mesenchymal cells.