Morphological, biological, and biochemical characteristics of human bladder transitional cell carcinomas grown in tissue culture and in nude mice.

The morphological, biological, biochemical, and karyotypic characteristics of four human bladder transitional cell carcinoma lines, SW-780, SW-800, SW-1738, and SW-1710, were investigated. In tissue culture, each cell line presented a distinct phenotypic expression. All but line SW-1710 grew when transplanted in the nude mouse. Light and electron microscopic studies showed morphological characteristics similar to the tumors of origin, being independent of the passages in tissue culture medium, tumor cell extracts, and the plasma of nude mouse-grown tumors, showing isoenzyme quantitative distribution typical for each cell line. In addition, each cell line exhibited a unique genetically determined enzyme phenotypic profile which, along with the karyotypic analysis, makes their identification feasible. These characteristics make the described tumor lines a valuable tool in studying various aspects of the biology of human bladder transitional cell carcinoma.