Establishment and characterization of two human ovarian endometrioid carcinoma cell lines (with or without squamous cell component).

The cell lines designated HMOA and HNOA were established from human ovarian adenoacanthoma and from a mouse graft of human ovarian endometrioid adenocarcinoma, respectively. These cell lines grew well without interruption for over 20 months. The cultured cells of both HMOA and HNOA lines were spindle, polygonal, and columnar, and showed a jigsaw puzzle-like arrangement and a piling-up tendency devoid of contact inhibition. When the HMOA cells were maintained at the confluent stage, the cells formed cysts and/or squamous metaplasia. The chromosome number of both cell lines varied widely and showed aneuploidy, while the modal chromosome number was stable at the diploid range. Both of these cell lines, HMOA and HNOA, were transplanted into the subcutis of BALB/c nude mice and produced well-differentiated adenoacanthoma and poorly differentiated endometrioid adenocarcinoma, respectively. HMOA cells were characterized as producing large amounts of CA125 (ovarian carcinoma marker), in vitro, in the cyst-forming phase. The HNOA cells, however, did not produce CA125.