A xenograft line of human teratocarcinoma established by serial transplantation in severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice

• Published in: APMIS : acta pathologica, microbiologica et immunologica Scandinavica Vol. 105; no. 1-6; pp. 283 - 289
• Main Authors: ABE, YOSHIYUKI, OSHIKA, YOSHIRO, OHNISHI, YASUYUKI, SUTO, RYUJI, TOKUNAGA, TETSUJI, YAMAZAKI, HITOSHI, KIJIMA, HIROSHI, HIRAOKA, NOBUYOSHI, UEYAMA, YOSHITO, TAMAOKI, NORIKAZU, NAKAMURA, MASATO
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.01.1997; Blackwell
• Subjects: Adult; alpha-Fetoproteins - analysis; Animal cells; Animals; Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols - therapeutic use; Biological and medical sciences; Biotechnology; Brain Neoplasms - radiotherapy; Brain Neoplasms - secondary; Brain Neoplasms - surgery; Cell differentiation, maturation, development, hematopoiesis; Cell physiology; Establishment of new cell lines, improvement of cultural methods, mass cultures; Eukaryotic cell cultures; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; human xenograft; Humans; Male; Mediastinal Neoplasms - diagnostic imaging; Mediastinal Neoplasms - drug therapy; Mediastinal Neoplasms - pathology; Methods. Procedures. Technologies; Mice; Mice, SCID; Molecular and cellular biology; Radiography; Teratocarcinoma; Teratocarcinoma - diagnostic imaging; Teratocarcinoma - drug therapy; Teratocarcinoma - pathology; Transplantation, Heterologous; Tumor Cells, Cultured; α-fetoprotein; Human; Rodentia; Malignant tumor; Cell differentiation; Heterograft; Malignant teratoma; Cell line establishment; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Mouse; Pluripotent cell; Differentiation; Severe; Combined immune deficiency; Serial transplantation
• ISSN: 0903-4641; 1600-0463
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1699-0463.1997.tb00570.x

We established a xenograft line of human teratocarcinoma (TC‐1) and characterized the pluripotency of differentiation of the neoplastic cells. A teratocarcinoma specimen obtained from a primary mediastinal lesion (22‐year‐old male patient) was inoculated subcutaneously into severe combined immunodeficient (SCID) mice. The carcinoma formed tumors in the mice. We established a xenograft line by serial passage of the tumor in vivo. The primary tumor was composed of papillary and pseudoglandular nests of highly atypical epithelial cells with foci of glomeruloid structures. The metastatic cells showed apparent production of mucin and differentiation to striated muscle. The xenograft line TC‐1 retained the basic histopathological features seen in the primary and metastatic cells. The xenograft line showed focal differentiation to cartilage through serial passages. Immunohistochemical studies with anti‐α‐fetoprotein (AFP) demonstrated positive immunoreactivity on the TC‐1 cells. Serum AFP levels were also elevated in the TC‐1‐bearing SCID mice. The human teratocarcinoma xenograft line TC‐1 will be useful for studying the differentiation mechanism in human totipotent stem cells.