EXPRESSION OF CELL-ADHESION MOLECULES IN AN ESTABLISHED AND CHARACTERIZED NEW HUMAN RENAL-CELL CANCER LINE, CCF-RC7

In order to investigate the importance of cell adhesion molecules (CAM s) in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a cell line, designated as CCF-RC7, was established from a human RCC of the clear cell type. CCF-RC7 was p assaged over 50 times in vitro for 3 1/2 years. The cell line has an e pithelial morphology and a doubling time of 30 h, forming colonies in soft agar with an average efficiency of 10.4% and producing clear cell tumors in athymic nude mice. CCF-RC7 cells have an aneuploid-hypotetr aploid karyotype with a modal chromosome number of 82 and rearrangemen ts in chromosomes 9, 12 and 14. Immunohistochemical and flow immunocyt ometric analyses revealed high expression of ICAM-1 (CD54), and Hermes antigen (CD44), which was significantly upregulated by cytokine and P MA treatment. VLA-4 was expressed on approximately 20% of tumor cells and could not be altered by cytokine or PMA stimulation. High expressi on of sialyl Lewis X was also demonstrated by immunohistological exami nation. This newly characterized cell line will serve as a useful mode l for the study of CAMs during hematogenous metastasis and host defens e mechanisms in human RCC.