MOLECULAR AND BIOLOGICAL FEATURES OF 2 NEW HUMAN SQUAMOUS AND ADENOCARCINOMA OF THE LUNG-CELL LINES

Two human cancer cell lines were established from metastatic lesions o f an adenocarcinoma (RAL) and a squamous cell (CAEP) carcinoma of the lung. The clinical histories of the patients from whom the cell lines were derived are reported. The lines were maintained in continuous cul ture with doubling times of 65 (RAL) and 50 (CAEP) hours. The RAL and CAEP cell lines, whose morphology and ultrastructural features are pre sented, showed extensively rearranged karyotypes with modal number of 85 (RAL) and 98 (CAEP). In particular, chromosome 2 pentasomy and seve ral clonal markers rr ere evident in the RAL cells, whereas a telomeri c deletion of chromosome 1, del (1)(q32), was observed in the CAEP cel ls. The morphologic data were confirmed bq high expression of specific antigens for each histotype. A marked positivity of the neuron-specif ic enolase (NSE) levels was evident by immunoenzymatic assays in the c ell lines cytosol with respect to those present in the respective pati ent's sera. No amplification or rearrangements were evident in the CMY C, LMYC, NMYC, INT-2, ERBB2, HRAS, KRAS, MOS, HST-1 genes by Southern blotting analysis in each cell line. Point mutations in exon 1 of I;RA S and in exon 7 of TP53 were evident by polymerase chain reaction (PCR )-DNA sequencing in the RAL cell line, whereas no alterations were pre sent in the HRAS and RE genes. The four genes studied did not show poi nt mutations in the CAEP cell line. The RAL cell line was resistant to all the drugs tested, whereas the CAEP cells were sensitive to vinbla stine. These cell lines may represent useful experimental models to in vestigate lung cancer biology and anticancer drug response. (C) Elsevi er Science Inc., 1998.