Scanning electron microscopic study of three glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines of the Chinese brain in vitro and in vivo.

Three permanent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) cell lines have been successfully established and characterized from the Chinese brain GBM tumors. The tumorigenicity in the athymic nude mice with multiple pulmonary metastases are observed. The scanning electron microscopic examinations reveal numerous surface microvilli and blebs of various size on the primary GBM tumors, the cultured tumor cells in vitro and the xenografted tumor cells in the nude mice in vivo. The distinct ultrastructural features of stellate cultured cells with astrocytic-differentiation after db-cAMP treatment of 96 hours show many intermittent dilations (pseudopods) along the long cytoplasmic processes. The intermittent dilatations and growth cones also express strongly positive immunostaining for GFAP. The growth inhibition of db-cAMP treated, cultured in vitro tumor cells is also observed. We are convinced that the continuous, established cell lines and tumorigenicity in the athymic nude mice may constitute the best reliable in vitro and in vivo systems for the investigation of human brain GBM.