Serotonin and histamine production by human carcinoid cells in culture.

We are reporting on the first human carcinoid cells ever cultured in vitro. These cells, termed CGP, originated from a jejunal carcinoid tumor. Before tumor resection, the 29-year old male patient presented high levels of blood serotonin and histamine and also of urinary serotonin and 5-hydroxyindole-acetic acid; values returned to normal 9 days after resection. CGP cells exhibit a very slow multiplication rate; generation time is about 10 days. From the first subculture, the main cytological, ultrastructural, and biochemical features of CGP cultures remain unchanged. The cells show most of the enterochromaffin cell histomorphological characteristics; for example, cytoplasmic granulations, specific of argyrophilic cells, can be seen both by electron microscopy and by light microscopy (preceded by silver impregnation). The high amounts of serotonin and histamine found by highly specific radioenzymatic assay in the supernatant of CGP cultures indicate that, after 6 months (25 subcultures), CGP cells have retained the main metabolic characteristics of the original tumor, i.e., the ability to synthesize, store, and release both serotonin and histamine.