A NEW HUMAN CHONDROSARCOMA CELL-LINE (OUMS-27) THAT MAINTAINS CHONDROCYTIC DIFFERENTIATION

A new human chondrosarcoma cell line, OUMS-27, was established. Monola yer cultures consisted of elongated polygonal cells with a doubling ti me of 41 hr and a plating efficiency of 2.1%. After reaching confluenc e, the cells continued to slowly proliferate and formed nodule-like st ructures, which showed metachromasia when stained with toluidine blue, indicating the presence of proteoglycan. The cells in the nodules wer e round to polygonal in shape, multilayered and surrounded by abundant extracellular matrix. Types I, II and III collagens were identified b y Northern blotting and immunostaining. The cells formed colonies (0.1 %) in 0.3% soft-agar medium 3 weeks after inoculation. Inoculation of cells into athymic mice resulted in the formation of tumors at the inj ection site, resembling the original chondrosarcoma. These results dem onstrated that OUMS-27 cells expressed a differentiated chondrocytic p henotype. Moreover, OUMS-27 cells had p53-gene mutation. Thus, the OUM S-27 cell line can provide a useful model not only for studies on huma n chondrocyte but also for basic studies on the diagnosis, treatment a nd etiology of human chondrosarcoma. (C) 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.