Establishment and characterization of a mutagenized cell line exhibiting the ‘cell‐in‐cell’ phenotype at a high frequency

Cell-in-cell structures represent live cell events in which one cell internalizes another. Because formation of cell-in-cell structures is a rare event in most cell types and the event is associated with cell death, there has been limited clarification of this phenomenon, and its physiological role and molecular mechanism are yet to be precisely elucidated. In this study, we established a mutagenized cell line that exhibited cell-in-cell structures at a more than 10-fold higher frequency as compared to the parent cells. Interestingly, both engulfment and invasion were increased in the mutagenized cell line as compared with that in the parent cell line in the suspension culture condition. This finding indicates that this mutagenized cell line showed an interchangeable status in terms of its ability to form cell-in-cell structures, and the system described here could be useful for elucidation of the mechanisms regulating the formation of cell-in-cell structures, including engulfment and invasion, in a given cellular environment. Further studies using this cell line are warranted to understand the mechanism of formation and biological significance of the cell-in-cell formation.