Establishment and characterization of human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell line SW-1990 in tissue culture and the nude mouse.

A new tumor line derived from a human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma of a 56-year-old Caucasian male was established in tissue culture and the nude mouse. In tissue culture, the neoplastic cells grew as large, epithelial-like, mucin-producing cells. Injection s.c. of 1 X 10(6) cultured neoplastic cells into nude mice resulted in tumor formation histologically closely resembling the original neoplasm. Ultrastructurally, the neoplastic cells showed characteristics of ductal epithelium. The allozyme phenotypic profile of the line was established in 14 genetically determined loci, and chromosome studies showed a near-tetraploid pattern. Production of macromolecules such as lactate dehydrogenase and carcinoembryonic antigen were present in measurable amounts in culture media, tumor cell extracts, nude mouse-grown tumors, and the serum of tumor-bearing mice in amounts relative to tumor size. Pancreatic enzymes were not detected. These characteristics make tumor line SW-1990 a valuable tool in studying various aspects of the biology of human pancreatic cancer.