Characterization of human teratoma cell lines for their in vitro developmental properties and expression of embryonic and major histocompatibility locus-associated antigens.

Five human teratoma cell lines have been characterized for the presence of a certain number of marker antigens whose presence or absence has been shown to be characteristic of mouse embryonal carcinoma (EC) cells. Four out of the five lines have been shown to respond to at least some of the criteria associated with murine EC cells even though only limited in vitro differentiation could be demonstrated. The significance of certain unusual marker antigen combinations present on the cell line Tera I and its clones and so far unobserved for the murine model is discussed. The observation in Tera I populations of cells carrying simultaneously both the F9 and beta 2-microglobulin or HLA antigens, suggest that the human cell lines may represent a novel material for the study of mammalian differentiation.