title: Establishment, characterization and drug sensitivity testing in primary cultures of human thymoma and thymic carcinoma.
abstract: Thymomas and thymic carcinomas are peculiar epithelial tumors of the anterior mediastinum. They may show aggressive clinical behavior and are a paradigm for the interaction between the tumor and the immune system. So far, adequate functional studies enabling a better understanding of this malignancy have not been performed, since human thymoma/thymic carcinoma cell lines have not been available. Here, the authors describe the establishment, characterization and functional analyses of epithelial cell lines from a Type B1-thymoma and a poorly differentiated thymic carcinoma. By Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) analyses, both cell lines were aneuploid. The aneuploid cell fraction of the thymic carcinoma cell line was characterized by a high proliferation index of 55.9%, in contrast to a lower proliferation rate of the aneuploid cell fraction of the thymoma (19.7%). Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) and conventional cytogenetic analysis of the thymoma revealed only minor imbalances whereas the thymic carcinoma was characterized by a complex karyotype in the hyperdiploid range that was readily defined with multicolor FISH (mFISH). Application of a selective COX-2 inhibitor reduced cell viability in both cell lines in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, these first cell lines of a thymoma and a CD5-positive thymic carcinoma are useful tools for further in vitro studies of cellular, molecular and genetic aspects of the disease and for functional tests to evaluate new therapeutic targets.
authors: Institute of Pathology, University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors: Volker
authors: V
authors: Ehemann
authors: Michael A
authors: MA
authors: Kern
authors: Marco
authors: M
authors: Breinig
authors: Philipp A
authors: PA
authors: Schnabel
authors: Bastian
authors: B
authors: Gunawan
authors: Hans-Jörg
authors: HJ
authors: Schulten
authors: Christoph
authors: C
authors: Schlaeger
authors: Bernhard
authors: B
authors: Radlwimmer
authors: Christina M
authors: CM
authors: Steger
authors: Hendrik
authors: H
authors: Dienemann
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Lichter
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Schirmacher
authors: Ralf J
authors: RJ
authors: Rieker
mesh_terms: D045744:Cell Line, Tumor; D002469:Cell Separation; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D005260:Female; D005434:Flow Cytometry; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009693:Nucleic Acid Hybridization; D013945:Thymoma / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D013953:Thymus Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*