Establishment of epithelial cell line TBC-27 from a human bladder transitional cell carcinoma and its biological characteristics

The cell line TBC-27, from a human bladder transitional cell carcinoma Grade II, was established and maintained for 8 months through 27 passages. TBC-27 cells have the epithelioid cell morphology during culture. The population doubling time of the 14th generation cells was 27 hours by growth curve. The chromosome karyotype of the 12th generation cells consisted mainly of hypodiploid (mode 40-45). Ultrastructurally, there was a great deal of freeribosome and vesicle in the cytoplasm and a great number of atypical microvilli on the surface of the 21st generation cells. The heterotransplantation test revealed that the xenografted tumor in the immunosuppressed suckling rats was similar to the initial bladder carcinoma in histology.