Establishment and partial characterization of a continuous human malignant glioma cell line: NG97.

1. A human glioma cell line, NG97, was established from tissue obtained from a patient diagnosed with a grade III astrocytoma. 2. The NG97 cell line has been subcultured for more than 100 passages in standard culture media without feeder layer or collagen coatings. 3. NG97 cells grow in vitro as two subpopulations with distinct morphological appearance: stellate cells with pleomorphic nuclei, and small round cells with few processes. The cells have a doubling time of about 72 h and a plating efficiency of 1%. The injection of NG97 cells into congenitally athymic mice induced the formation of solid tumor masses that could be retransplanted every 4 weeks. The cells obtained from tumor mass when cultivated in vitro had a morphology comparable to those of the initial culture. 4. This cell line may prove useful for cellular and molecular studies as well as in studies of gliomas treatment.