Continuous production of erythropoietin by an established human renal carcinoma cell line: development of the cell line.

Establishment of a stable, transformed human renal carcinoma cell line that produces erythropoietin in vitro and has maintained this function continuously since 1981 and for greater than 150 passages in monolayer culture was accomplished by transplantation of human renal clear cell carcinoma tissue from a patient with erythrocytosis into an immunosuppressed athymic mouse. In addition to its immunocrossreactivity with native human urinary erythropoietin, the tumor erythropoietin demonstrates biological activity in the in vitro mouse erythroid colony-forming unit assay and in tumor-bearing nude mice. The cloned renal carcinoma cell line has an abnormal human karyotype and has ultrastructural features characteristic of human renal clear cell carcinoma. This cell line provides a reproducible model system for the production of an erythropoietin-like material and for the study of its synthesis and secretion.