The establishment and characterization of a continuous cell line of mouse cervical carcinoma

Objective To establish a murine uterine cervical cancer cell line and to define its biological characters. Methods Transplanted tumor tissue was used for in vitro primary culture of U14 cervical carcinoma cells. After 20 passages, we examined its morphology, chromosomes, tumorigenicity and produced a growth curve. CK was detected by immunohistochemistry, the cell cycle determined by flow cytometry and the metastatic potential assessed in 615 and C57BL/c mice. We also transfected the cells with the pEGFP-N1 plasmid. Results A newly established murine cell line was passaged 50 times over a period of 10 months. The cells grow as a partially suspended culture, and are immunohistochemically CK(+). The cell line is characterized by a hypotetraploid karyotype, a chromosomal number of 64–68 and a doubling time of 21.8 h. Exponential growth occurs by the third and forth day of culture. Cell cycle analysis showed G 1 34%, G 2 26%, and 40% in the S phase. The tumorigenicity was 100% upon implantation. No mycoplasma contamination was detected. A monoclonal continuous U14-GFP cell strain which was 100% GFP (+) was also produced. Conclusion We successfully established a new murine cervical U14 carcinoma cell line and an U14-GFP monoclonal strain. These cell lines are ideal for combined in vivo and in vitro tumor research.