[Establishment and characterization of a new cell line (KT-COLO-8) derived from a colonic mucinous adenocarcinoma]

We have established a human colonic carcinoma cell line, designated KT-COLO-8, derived from cancerous ascites of a 64-year-old male patient who had mucinous adenocarcinoma of the transverse colon. The cells have been cultured with RPMI-1640 medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum. They grew in vitro free-floating and formed sheet-like clusters as large as 2-3 mm in diameter. Population doubling time for the cells was 48 hours. The chromosome number ranged from 48 to 50. The Q-band analysis revealed abnormal karyotype with three marker chromosomes including 1p-, 4q- and 5q-. The cells produced and released high level of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in the conditioned medium. Percentage of CEA positive cells was 98%. An aggregation assay revealed that 80% of the cells dissociated into single cells aggregated within 30 min. The self aggregation of the cells was completely inhibited only by anti-CEA monoclonal antibody, suggesting that the cluster formation of KT-COLO-8 cells was dependent on CEA molecules.