ESTABLISHMENT AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A NEW HUMAN GALLBLADDER CARCINOMA CELL-LINE (OCUG-1) PRODUCING TA-4

A new human cell line (OCUG-1) was established from peritoneal effusio n of a patient with malignant gallbladder carcinoma. OCUG-1 cells prol iferated mainly in clusters of cells partially floating in a monolayer ed sheet. The population doubling time is 47.1 h. DNA analysis showed that OCUG-1 cells were aneuploid and had two G(0)/G(1) peaks. The numb er of chromosomes was distributed in a broad range from 52 to 139. Sub cutaneous injections of the cells induced tumor formation in all nude mice. The reconstituted tumors were poorly differentiated adenocarcino ma. High levels of SLX, CA19-9, SPan-1 and TA-4 were found in the seru m of the original patient, but OCUG-1 cells produced only TA-4. We spe culate that OCUG-1 may be a transitional form from adenocarcinoma to s quamous cell carcinoma. Since OCUG-1 produces a high level of TA-4, it will be useful for the study of the biological nature of this carcino ma and the relationship between the expression of TA-4 and squamatizat ion.