Abstract: (7125 Views)
Background: Ewing's sarcoma is one of the most malignant tumors in children and young adults. Only a few established cell lines of Ewing's sarcoma have been reported, which makes it difficult to study the biological features of these tumors. We have recently established a new Ewing's sarcoma cell line designated SS-ES-1, originating from a thoracic tumor of a 16-year-old female patient. The SS-ES-1 cells have been grown continuously in culture for over 90 passages. In this report, some characteristics of SS-ES-1 cells are presented.
Methods: The cells were grown in DMEM medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS), 100 mg/ml streptomycin and 100 U/ml penicillin in a humidified atmosphere with 7% CO2 at 37 ºC. The cells were immunocytochemically characterized using a panel of monoclonal and polyclonal antibodies. Furthermore, the chemo-sensitivity of this cell line to some anticancer drugs was assessed using MTT assay and IC50 values were determined.
Results: Morphologically, the SS-ES-1 cell line is composed of poorly differentiated small round cells growing in a multilayer pattern. The immunocytochemical staining demonstrates strong reactivity to CD99, cytokeratin, neurofilament, p53 and Ki67 proteins, but no reactivity to GFAP. Based on IC50 values, SS-ES-1 cells display considerable sensitivity to vinblastine (2±0.7 pM), followed by vincristine (0.3±0.12 nM), doxorubicin (0.05±0.03 µM), etoposide (0.64±0.28 µM) and cisplatin (0.67±0.45 µM).
Conclusions: In conclusion, the SS-ES-1 cell line demonstrates unique cellular properties, which make it a useful model for studying various aspects of the biology of Ewing's sarcoma.