Isolation of a human prostate carcinoma cell line (DU 145)

A long-term tissue culture cell line has been derived from a human prostate adenocarcinoma metastatic to the brain. The cell line, DU 145, has been passaged 90 times in vitro over a period of 2 years. The cells are epithelial, grow in isolated islands on plastic Petri dishes, and form colonies in soft agar suspension culture. Karyotypic analysis demonstrates an aneuploid human karyotype with a modal chromosome number of 64. Distinctive marker chromosomes (a translocation Y chromosome, metacentric minute chromosomes and three large acrocentic chromosomes) have been identified. Electron microscopy of the original tumor tissue and of the tissue culture cell line show a remarkable similarity in cell organelle structure.