New Hepatocellular Carcinoma Cell Line SUHC‐1 Established from a Patient with Hepatitis C Virus RNA in Serum

A new human hepatocellular carcinoma cell (HCC) line, designated SUHC‐1, was derived from a Japanese patient with hepatocellular carcinoma having antibody to hepatitis C virus (HCV) and HCV‐RNA in his serum, and established in tissue culture. This cell line exhibited typical epithelial cell morphology in culture as observed by phase‐contrast and electron microscopy. The SUHC‐1 cells produced albumin and α(2)‐macroglobulin. Chromosomal analysis showed several rearrangements at short and long arms of chromosome 1, 17 and 20 (1p–, 1q–, i(1q), i(17q) and 20q +) with a modal number of 91. HCV‐RNA was not detected in the supernatant of SUHC‐1 cells by nested polymerase chain reaction assay or in the SUHC‐1 cells by the in situ hybridization method. We concluded that complete HCV does not exist in the SUHC‐1 cell line. The SUHC‐1 cell line is the first line of HCC to have been derived from a patient with persistent HCV infection, and may provide a suitable model for studies of hepatocarcinogenesis related to HCV.