[Establishment and characterization of a childhood embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell line with nonrandom chromosome...

A childhood embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma cell line, designated as TS-RM-1, was established from transplanted tumor in nude mouse. TS-RM-1 cells were small, spindle to polygonal shaped and cytoplasm was rich in glycogen. Estimated population doubling time was 31 hours and the distribution of chromosome number was in the range of 88 to 98. The karyotype of TS-RM-1 cells revealed nonrandom structural chromosome alterations, including der(3)t(1;3)(q12;p12-14),16q-,17q+ and 21q+. In immuno-cytohistochemical study, both TS-RM-1 cells and the primary tumor were positive for desmin and vimentin. TS-RM-1 cell line may be useful for studying the association between embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma and a specific alteration in chromosome 3.