[Transplantable mouse pancreatic acinar cancer cell line (MPC-83) and its characteristics]

The transplantable mouse pancreas cancer cell line (MPC-83) has been established for two years, and transplanted serially into Kunming strain (KM) mice subcutaneously for 55 generations on Feb. 11, 1985. The transplantability rate in KM, BALB/C and Swiss mice was 100%. The tumor cells of some passages were stored in liquid nitrogen, and their revival was fine. It is the first transplantable pancreas cancer cell line ever established in China. The primary tumor was derived from a spontaneous pancreas cancer of a outbred male KM mouse. It was a poor-differentiated pancreatic acinar cell cancer. The transplanted tumors from all generations were similar to the primary one in both histology and histochemistry. The esterase staining was positive. By electron-microscopy, the zymogen granules were seen in the cytoplasm of its 1st, 25th and 33rd passages. The chromosome numbers in 28th, 32nd and 35th passages were hypertriploid with a modal number of 60 to 69, and some abnormal submetacentric chromosomes could be seen. The mean survival time of the tumor-bearing mice was 22 days. Metastases could be found in the lung (80%), sometimes in pancreas, omentum and other abdominal organs nearby with bloody cancerous ascites (10.5%). The fat necrosis might be noted around the tumor. These phenomena were similar to the clinical characteristics of human pancreas cancer. The preliminary therapeutic test shows that MPC-83 is sensitive to anticancer drugs such as 5-FU, Cyclophosphamide and cis-platin. This modal may be used for study of pancreas cancer, the mechanism of metastasis and antimetastatic agents of tumor, basic research and anticancer drugs.