CHARACTERIZATION OF HUMAN LARYNX-CARCINOMA CELL-LINES HLAC'79 AND HLAC'82 - A COMMON ORIGIN BUT DIVERGED MALIGNANCIES

As part of a study on the relationship of tumour phenotype and behavio ur, we have characterized two head and neck squamous cell carcinoma ce ll lines, derived from human laryngeal carcinomas and designated HLaC' 79 and HLaC'82, Cytogenetic analysis revealed that HLaC'79 and HLaC'82 shared 10 major chromosome rearrangements indicating that the cell li nes had a common origin, In the extremely complex chromosomal patterns , abnormalities were found in chromosomes 1, 3 (surplus 3q) and 5 (i(5 p) x 2), Both cell lines displayed constitutive expression of vimentin and were capable of anchorage-independent growth in agarose gels, How ever, in spite of their common origin specific differences were found, Cells of HLaC'79 were spindle shaped and formed tumours in athymic mi ce, In contrast, cells of HLaC'82 had a compact morphology, contained less vimentin, were more contact inhibited and were not tumorigenic. T hese results indicate that malignant transformation in HLaC'82 was par tially reversed.