Characteristics of an established human glioma cell line, KNS-42.

We established a human glioma cell line derived from a malignant glioma and evaluated it by immunochemical techniques and antibodies to astroglial (glial fibrillary acidic protein: GFAP, S-100 protein), oligodendroglial (myelin basic protein, galactocerebroside), neuronal (neuron-specific enolase: NSE, neurofilament triplet proteins), and mesenchymal (vimentin, fibronectin) antigens. The cell line was epithelial in sparse culture and glial in dense culture. GFAP was expressed by most cells in sparse culture and primarily by overlying cells in dense culture. The amount of GFAP depended on the cell density and ranged from 530 to 990 ng/mg of protein. The cells contained much more vimentin than GFAP. Neurofilament proteins, S-100 protein, myelin basic protein, and galactocerebroside were undetectable. The cells synthesized a small amount of fibronectin and released it into the medium. The amount of NSE was unrelated to cell density, ranged from 13 to 19 ng/mg of protein, and was present in greater quantity in cells cultured in a medium containing 1 μl/ml of sodium lactate. We conclude that KNS-42 is a permanent astrocytic glioma cell line; it expresses GFAP, NSE, vimentin, and fibronectin, and is morphologically and functionally dependent on its environment.