Benign mediastinal teratoma with immature elements exhibited clonal growth and motility in the human tumor clonogenic assay.
The human tumor clonogenic assay has been used to study the growth and drug sensitivity of a wide variety of malignant and a limited number of benign tumors. We conducted detailed studies on a multipotential benign teratoma from a young child that gave rise to colonies in soft agar culture. The colonies separated themselves from the surrounding agar and exhibited rapid rotary movement (15 r/min). Morphologic, ultrastructural, and immunologic studies showed the colonies to be comprised exclusively of ciliated respiratory epithelium. The uniform beating of the cilia resulted in a constant rolling motion of the colonies in a single direction.
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002465:Cell Movement; D002923:Cilia / Q000648:ultrastructure; D002999:Clone Cells / Q000473:pathology; D004848:Epithelium / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008479:Mediastinal Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology*; D012137:Respiratory System / Q000473:pathology; D013724:Teratoma / Q000473:pathology*; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay