[Morphological studies of cultured cells derived from human cervix with normal and abnormal epithelium]

Primary explant tissue cultured cells and their subcultured cells were studied morphologically as basic research into the neoplastic process in the uterine cervix, or into the cellular difference between carcinoma in situ (cis) and invasive carcinoma. We cultured cells derived from normal squamous epithelium, dysplasia, cis and invasive carcinoma, and these cultured cells were observed by light and electron microscopy. The following results were obtained: A cultured medium with D-valine substituted for L-valine was used, and it was found that the medium clearly inhibited the outgrowth of fibroblasts, but did not inhibit the outgrowth of the epithelial cells. The cultured cells from the normal, dysplasia and cis could be passaged three times. These cultured cells derived from the normal and each abnormal epithelium had different growth patterns. In addition, the morphological features of these cultured cells resembled those of each in vivo. There was no difference in the findings for the subcultured cells.