Establishment of two glioma cell lines from two surgical specimens obtained at different times from the same...

We established two glioma cell lines from two surgical specimens obtained at different times from the same patient. One (No. 9R), which was derived from the recurrent tumor (glioblastoma, grade IV), proliferated more rapidly in vitro than the other (No. 9) from the primary tumor (slightly anaplastic astrocytoma, grade II-III). No. 9R showed heterotransplantability in nude mice, whereas No. 9 did not. These findings indicate that No. 9R has a more aggressive or malignant nature than No. 9. Both cell lines showed homozygous deletion of the representative tumor suppressor p16 and p15 genes, but no p53 gene alteration. However, examination of the overall mRNA expression profile using a commercially available cDNA-spotted membrane revealed much higher expression levels of several mRNAs, at least, in No. 9R than in No. 9, although the relationship between these mRNAs and the growth potentials remained unknown. These two cell lines, derived from the same individual, with different proliferating potentials may be useful for studies on the molecular bases of glioma malignancy and progression.