In vitro cultivation of human testicular embryonal carcinoma and establishment of a new cell line.

Tissues from the surgical specimen of 7 patients with testicular embryonal carcinoma were cultivated in vitro. Among 7 primary cultures, initial growth of tumor cells was observed in 5 cases. One of them was successfully subcultured and a cell line, designated NEC-8, has been established. NEC-8 cells grow as a flat epithelial colony densely packed with polygonal cells and gradually pile up at the center of the colony. Ultrastructure of NEC-8 cell revealed desmosomes and microvilli at the cell membrane. The cytoplasm was characteristically rich in glycogen granules which corresponded with strong PAS reaction. The chromosome number of NEC-8 cells at passage 3 showed wide distribution from 70 to 183, with a mode of 85 to 88. Histology of the heterotransplant of NEC-8 cells into the hamster cheek pouch was that of adenocarcinoma resembling a part of the histology of the original tumor.