Establishment and characterization of a new human extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma cell line (KMBC)

A new human extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma cell line (KMBC) was established from a serially transplanted tumor in nude mice that originated from a surgically resected tumor from a 73-year-old Japanese man; the cell line has been maintained for 5 five years. KMBC cells proliferate in a monolayered sheet with a population doubling time of 30 hours. Chromosome number was distributed in a range from 37 to 44, with modal numbers of 40 and 41. KMBC cells and the reconstituted tumor in a nude mouse showed moderately to poorly differentiated adenocarcinoma and possessed various functional characteristics of extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma. KMBC cells secreted carbohydrate antigen 19-9, tissue polypeptide antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, ferritin, beta 2-microglobulin, fibronectin, and alpha 2-macroglobulin and produced glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and alkaline phosphatase. KMBC is the second established cell line that originated from a human extrahepatic bile duct carcinoma in the world literature, and it will be applicable to various experiments.