Biological and molecular characterization of a new human ampullary cancer cell line

Ampullary carcinoma of the pancreas accounts for 5% of all gastrointestinal malignancies in humans. Only a very few cell lines of this carcinoma have been established.

Tumor cells isolated from a surgically resected ampullary carcinoma were put into culture. The cultured cells were characterized for their biological, immunological and molecular properties including in vitra and in viva cell kinetics, karyotype, expression of tumor markers and lysis by autologous cytotoxic T-lymphocytes.

An ampullary cancer cell line, designated UKEAC-99, was established. It proliferates as a monolayer with a doubling-time of 29 hours. The cytological features of the cultured and of the xenografted cells from SCID mice were similar to those of the primary tumor. UKEAC-99 cells were lysed by autologous cytotoxic T-lymphocytes in a HLA-class I restricted fashion. Hybridization of tumor mRNA to a dedicated DNA-chip revealed overexpression of several genes involved in tumor progression such as L6, Matrilysin and Vimentin. Tumor suppressor genes and apoptosis-associated genes like p73 or IL1 alpha are expressed at a low level.

We established a new ampullary carcinoma cell line, which is rare and may contribute to our understanding of the biological behavior of ampullary carcinoma. The lysis by autologous cytotoxic T-lymphocytes and possibly shared antigens with other pancreatic cancers may help to identify tumor-associated/tumor-specific antigens. The detailed analysis of gene expression allows researchers new insights into ampullary cancer that can be exploited in future in vitro and in vivo models.