Screening of human osteosarcoma cell line with spontaneous highly pulmonary metastasis in nude mice by orthotopic transplantation and studies on its biological characteristics

Aim To screen human osteosarcoma cell line with spontaneous highly pulmonary metastases in nude mice by an orthotopic transplantation and to provide a model for experimental study. Methods Osteosarcoma cell line SOSP9607 were inoculated in tibial marrow cavity of nude mice by subcutaneous injection of 107 cells ( 90% viable). Orthotopic transplantated, a cell line representive of passage three with highly pulmonary metastases was obtained, characterized by light and electronic microscropy,karyotype, expressions of vimentin,actin and NSE, doubling time in vitro. Results After the third sequential or thotopic transplantation, a highly metastatic clone was obtained. Relatively to parental cells, it remained histological characteristics of human osteosarcoma cells, but possessed more chromosome abnormalities. Conclusion A human osteosarcoma cell subpopulation with spontaneous highly pulmonary metastasis is established in nude mice.