ASBESTOS-RELATED MALIGNANT MESOTHELIOMA - GROWTH, CYTOLOGY, TUMORIGENICITY AND CONSISTENT CHROMOSOME FINDINGS IN CELL-LINES FROM 5 PATIENTS

Seven mesothelioma cell lines were established from clinical specimens from five patients with asbestmrelated malignant pleural mesothelioma. The cells in culture show either epithelial or mixed epithelial/fibrosarcomatous growth with an average doubling time of 30 h. Giant multinucleated cells are common in all the cell Lines, as well as long thin microvllli on the cell surfaces. All cell lines were cytokerath pitive and they stained negatively for monocyte-macrophage markers. AU seven cell lines and one long-term tissue culture from a sixth mesothelioma patient were characterized cytogenetically. hyotype analyses revealed complex structural and numerical abnormalities, primarily involving chromosome 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 22. An excess of chromosome material of the short arm of chromosome 5 was seen consistently in six cell lines and in the long-term culture. In cell lines from four patients, changes in chromosome 13, mainly monasomy 13, were observed. The marker chromosomes observed in the e d y passages were conserved and few additional changes appeared in later passages. Six of the cell lines tested for tumorigenicity in athymic nude mice were weakly positive. © 1990 Oxford University Press.