[Isolation and comparative study of clones from human esophageal carcinoma cell line EC9706]

Cell line is one of the important materials for cancer research. In the present study, single-cell clones were isolated from esophageal carcinoma cell line EC9706 by limited dilution method. Three sublines were obtained, namely EC1, EC2 and EC3. Cytogenetic analysis showed that EC1 was a mixed clone, and the chromosome number of sublines EC2 and EC3 were 117 and 62, respectively. There were significant differences in the growth rate, cell cycle distribution, cell mobility, and colony formation ability between EC2 and EC3. The degree of malignancy was significantly higher for EC3 than for EC2. The monoclonal sublines EC2 and EC3 with different malignant potential provide useful materials for exploring the pathogenesis and gene therapy of human esophageal carcinoma, investigating multidrug resistance, and screening anti-tumor medications.