Establishment and Characterization of a Human Cell Line Derived from a Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Tongue

A cell line designated as OSC-19 was established from the metastatic tumor which was found in a cervical lymph node of a male patient suffering squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of tongue. OSC-19 cells were polygonal in shape and grew in a cobblestone pattern. Desmosomes and microvilli were observed by electron microscopic examination, but tonofilament bundles were scarce. However, immunofluorescence studies showed cytokeratins in the cytoplasms of OSC-19 cells. When inoculated into nude mice, OSC-19 cells had many distinctive desmosomes and plenty of tonofilament bundles. These observations suggested strongly that OSC-19 cell line was SCC in origin. OSC-19 cells had receptors of epidermal growth factor (EGF), but the growth of the cells in dish culture was inhibited by 1 to 100 ng/ml EGF in dose-dependent manners. OSC-19 cells could not grow in soft agar, suggesting that they were strongly anchorage dependent. However, in contrast to dish culture, EGF stimulated colony formation of OSC-19 cells in soft agar. These results suggested that EGF has complex effects on the cell growth.