Characterization of the WIDR: a human colon carcinoma cell line.

We describe the establishment and characterization of WiDr, a cell line derived from a human colon carcinoma. It produces carcinoembryonic antigen in culture, and has a doubling time of 15 hr with plating efficiency of 51%. The HLA antigenic profile and the allozyme genetic signature (composed of eight gene-enzyme systems) of WiDr cells are different from those of HeLa cells. Furthermore, WiDr cells possess three marker chromosomes, again distinct from the HeLa marker chromosomes. Finally, it is highly tumorigenic in four different xenogeneic animal models. Based on these studies, WiDr represents a useful model cell line for tumor cell biology investigations.