Newly Established Uterine Cervical Carcinoma Cell Line with Co‐amplification of Human Papillomavirus DNA and c‐myc Gene

A new human tumor cell line, NCC‐c‐CX‐1 (CX‐1), was established from a uterine cervical cancer xenografted in nude mice. This cell line harbored approximately 50 to 100 copies of human papillomavirus (HPV) type 18 DNA per haploid genome, and contained about 16‐fold‐amplified c‐myc gene with rearrangement. These genomic alterations found in CX‐1 cells were also present in both primary tumor and xenografted tumor. Histopathologically, original and xenografted tumors were poorly differentiated cancer and were characterized by neuroendocrine features such as positive neuron‐specific enolase and chromogranin A by immunohistochemistry and abundant neurosecretory‐type granules in the cytoplasm by electron microscopy. However, the established cell line had lost the neuroendocrine features. This cervical cancer cell line may be a useful model for studying cervical carcinogenesis, especially the interaction between HPV and c‐myc oncogene.