A human hepatocellular carcinoma cell line with multiple copies of structurally normal chromosomes

At Veterans General Hospital (VGH), a cell line, HA59T(HA59T/VGH), was established from a primary hepatocellular carcinoma of a 52-year-old Chinese male patient. G-banded metaphases were analyzed at passages 12 and 62. Of the 200 cells counted, 68% had 100-110 chromosomes/cell at passage 12, and 74% had 90-100 chromosomes/cell at passage 62. The presence of multiple copies of a structurally normal chromosome in a single cell was common for most of the chromosomes. Both X and Y sex chromosomes were normally present in the majority of the cells. This cell line is karyotypically different from those reported in other literature.