Malignant cells derived from 3T3 fibroblast feeder layer in cell culture for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

In this study, we discovered a subpopulation of 3T3 feeder cells were malignantly transformed by nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) tumor cells during co-culture. The transformed 3T3 cells acquired an accelerated growth rate, displayed loosely attached multilayer growth in vitro and highly tumorigenic in vivo. Most strikingly, instead of forming sarcomas, they developed into carcinoma-like tumors somewhat resembling the original NPC. We further demonstrated the transformation is not a single isolated event, rather a common reproducible, cell contact dispensable phenomena among NPC tumor cells. However, NPC tumor cells alone were not sufficient to confer the transformed characteristics onto normal human cells.