Analysis of the growth properties and physical state of the human papillomavirus type 16 genome in cell lines derived from primary cervical tumors.

We have established three cell lines from keratinizing and nonkeratinizing cervical carcinomas with distinct growth properties in vitro and in vivo. Each cell line contained human papillomavirus type 16 DNA sequences, but the lines differed in the physical state of the viral genome present in the cells. A high copy number of episomal human papillomavirus type 16 DNA sequences was detected in the TC-140 line derived from a keratinizing cervical cancer. This cell line had an aneuploid karyotype, did not grow in soft agarose, and formed benign cystlike nodules in nude mice, similar in morphology to well-differentiated areas of the primary tumor. Only integrated human papillomavirus type 16 sequences were detected in the TC-146A and TC-146B lines established from a nonkeratinizing large-cell cervical carcinoma. These cell lines exhibited reduced sensitivity to transforming growth factor-beta 1 and produced invasive, but not progressively growing, tumors in nude mice. These cell lines should complement existing in vitro models of cervical carcinogenesis and provide useful tools for understanding the importance of virus integration in the transformation process as well as the cellular and molecular basis for tumor progression.