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Isolation and Characterization of Tumor-initiating Cells from Sarcoma Patient-derived Xenografts
Published on: June 13, 2019
Establishment and Characterization of a Novel Dedifferentiated Chondrosarcoma Cell Line DDCS2
Xiaoyang Li1,2, Dylan C Dean2, Al Ferreira2
1Department of Orthopedics, National Cancer Center/National Clinical Research Center for Cancer/Cancer Hospital, 71041Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People's Republic of China.
Background:
The dedifferentiated variant of chondrosarcoma is highly aggressive and carries an especially grim prognosis. While chemotherapeutics has failed to benefit patients with dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma significantly, preclinical chemosensitivity studies have been limited by a scarcity of available cell lines. There is, therefore, an urgent need to expand the pool of available cell lines.
Methods:
We report the establishment of a novel dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma cell line DDCS2, which we isolated from the primary tumor specimen of a 60-year-old male patient. We characterized its short tandem repeat (STR) DNA profile, growth potential, antigenic markers, chemosensitivity, and oncogenic spheroid and colony-forming capacity.
Results:
DDCS2 showed a spindle to polygonal shape and an approximate 60-hour doubling time. STR DNA profiling revealed a unique genomic identity not matching any existing cancer cell lines within the ATCC, JCRB, or DSMZ databases. There was no detectable contamination with another cell type. Western blot and immunofluorescence assays were consistent with a mesenchymal origin, and our MTT assay revealed relative resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics, which is typical of a dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma. Under ex vivo three-dimensional (3D) culture conditions, the DDCS2 cells produced spheroid patterns similar to the well-established CS-1 and SW1353 chondrosarcoma cell lines.
Conclusion:
Our findings confirm DDCS2 is a novel model for dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma and therefore adds to the limited pool of current cell lines urgently needed to investigate the chemoresistance within this deadly cancer.
Insights
A new cell line, DDCS2, has been established for studying dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer. This novel cell line will aid research into chemoresistance and improve treatment strategies for this deadly disease.
Area of Science:
- Oncology
- Cancer Cell Biology
- Genomics
Background:
- Dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma is an aggressive cancer with a poor prognosis.
- Current chemotherapeutics offer limited benefit to patients with this condition.
- A scarcity of available cell lines hinders preclinical chemosensitivity studies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To establish and characterize a novel cell line for dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma research.
- To address the urgent need for more cell lines to study chemoresistance.
- To facilitate the development of new therapeutic strategies.
Main Methods:
- Isolation and characterization of the DDCS2 cell line from a patient tumor specimen.
- Short tandem repeat (STR) DNA profiling for unique genomic identity.
- Assessment of growth potential, antigenic markers, chemosensitivity, and 3D spheroid formation.
Main Results:
- DDCS2 cells exhibit spindle to polygonal morphology with a ~60-hour doubling time.
- STR profiling confirmed a unique genomic identity, distinct from existing databases.
- MTT assays indicated relative resistance to conventional chemotherapeutics, consistent with dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma.
- DDCS2 cells formed spheroids in 3D culture, comparable to established chondrosarcoma lines.
Conclusions:
- DDCS2 is a novel and validated cell line model for dedifferentiated chondrosarcoma.
- This new cell line expands the limited resources for investigating chemoresistance.
- DDCS2 will be instrumental in advancing research for this aggressive cancer.

