Establishment and characterization of a new cell line, FRTK-1, derived from human malignant rhabdoid tumor of the kidney, with overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor and cyclooxygenase-2.

A new human malignant rhabdoid tumor (MRT) cell line (designated FRTK-1) was established from MRT of the kidney of an 18-month-old boy. The cell line is maintained for over 24 months with more than 100 passages. FRTK-1 cells in vitro showed 2 different growth patterns, adherent and non-adherent patterns. The FRTK-1 cells showed the same morphological and immunophenotypical characteristics as primary tumor cells of kidney. Cytogenetic and molecular analyses revealed a non-sense mutation in the hSNF5/INI1 gene and loss of expression of hSNF5/INI1 gene product protein. Epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) were expressed in the FRTK-1 cells. Until now, there has been no report of MRT cell lines with expression of COX-2. Therefore, FRTK-1 cell line might be useful for investigating biological behavior and developing new molecular targeting antitumor drugs for MRT with expression of EGFR or COX-2.