Establishment of a Human Cell Line Secreting Neuron‐specific Enolase from a Primitive Neuroectodermal Tumor of the Retroperitoneal Cavity

• Published in: Cancer science Vol. 86; no. 12; pp. 1172 - 1178
• Main Authors: Nakashima, Jun, Horiguchi, Yutaka, Ueno, Munehisa, Nakamura, Kaoru, Tachibana, Masaaki, Hata, Jun‐ichi, Tazaki, Hiroshi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.12.1995; Japanese Cancer Association; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aneuploidy; Animals; Biological and medical sciences; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Cell culture; Cell differentiation; Chromosome Aberrations; Electron microscopy; Fatal Outcome; Genes, myc; Histogenesis; Humans; Kidney Neoplasms - genetics; Kidney Neoplasms - metabolism; Kidney Neoplasms - pathology; Kidneys; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Nude; Myc protein; Neoplasm Proteins - metabolism; Neoplasm Transplantation; Nephrology. Urinary tract diseases; Nervous system diseases; Neural crest; Neuroectodermal Tumors - genetics; Neuroectodermal Tumors - metabolism; Neuroectodermal Tumors - pathology; Neuron‐specific enolase; Nude mice; Phosphopyruvate hydratase; Phosphopyruvate Hydratase - metabolism; Primitive neuroectodermal tumor; Serum levels; Tumor Cells, Cultured; Tumorigenesis; Tumors of the urinary system; Xenografts; Human; Cell culture; Retroperitoneal; Enzyme; Rodentia; Tissue specificity; Exploration; Lyases; Tumorigenicity; Retroperitoneal disease; Malignant tumor; Neuroectodermal tumor; Pathology; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Neuron; Mouse; Animal; Established cell line; Cytogenetics; Carbon-oxygen lyases; Phosphopyruvate hydratase; Hydro-lyases
• ISSN: 0910-5050; 1347-9032; 1349-7006; 1876-4673
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1349-7006.1995.tb03311.x

Primitive neuroectodermal tumor (PNET) is one of the small round cell malignancies of presumed neural crest origin for which an effective treatment has not yet been established. In the present study, a human cell line, designated KU‐9, was established from a 27‐year‐old male patient with PNET of the retroperitoneal cavity and has been successfully maintained in nude mice and in culture. On histological examination, the primary tumor was composed of poorly differentiated small round cells arranged in clusters showing a variety of mitotic changes, and contained Homer‐Wright rosettes. The histopathological appearance of the KU‐9 xenografts was similar to that of the primary tumor. Electron microscopy revealed neurosecretory granules and cytoplasmic processes in the xenograft. No significant amplification of N‐myc gene was observed in the KU‐9 cells. The KU‐9 cells showed chromosome numbers ranging from 56 to 61 with consistent structural abnormalities being add(2)(q31), +add(ll)(pll.2), +add(13)(pll.l), and + del(22)(q12). Cultured KU‐9 cells grew exponentially with a doubling time of about 50 h and a time‐dependent increase in medium levels of neuron‐specific enolase (NSE) was noted. Serum levels of NSE in KU‐9 tumor‐bearing nude mice were significantly elevated and a linear relationship between the serum NSE levels and the tumor NSE content or tumor volume was observed, suggesting that serum levels of NSE may reflect the PNET tumor burden and tumor extent. These results indicate that the KU‐9 cell line provides a reproducible model system which could be useful in gaining some insight into the histogenesis and oncogenesis of PNET and in establishing an effective treatment for PNET.