Characterization of a newly established human tumor cell line (TEN) from a patient with clear cell carcinoma of the uterine body and its sensitivity to anti-cancer agents.

A cell line derived from human endometrial clear cell adenocarcinoma was newly established and named TEN. The tumor cells were obtained from uterine body of a 74-year-old who had been undergone an abdominal simple hysterectomy. The histologic features of the tumor cells showed abundant clear cytoplasm with diastase digested glycogen granule growing in solid nest and tubular pattern. The TEN cells were continuously propagated in vitro during the past 45 months and they were at 75th passage. They grew in a monolayered sheet with a doubling time of about 53 hours. The TEN cells resembled the structure of the original tumor and had abundant glycogen granules, lipid droplets in the cytoplasm. The histopathology of the transplanted tumor in SCID mice resembled that of the original tumors. The TEN cells secreted a high content of CA125. Immunohistochemically, the TEN cells had c-erbB-2 and Cathepsin D immunoreactivity in some parts of the cell population. But they did not have estrogen, progesterone and EGF receptor. Sensitivities of the TEN cells to a variety of anti-cancer drugs were examined. In in-vitro tests, MTT assays employed. The results suggested that the TEN cells were not sensitive to any of 13 agents. On the other hand, in-vivo sensitivity test of transplanted tumor in SCID mice, the tumors were sensitive to CPT-11 and paclitaxel. We conclude that the TEN cell line will be effective material for chemosensitivities against the endometrial clear cell adenocarcinoma.