Growth pattern and molecular biological analysis of primary meningioma cell cultures under different conditions

Abstract. Cell culture is a common methodology used in tumor research. However, the manner in which initial tissue conditions, such as storage in the operating theatre, can affect proliferation has not been well‑established. Additionally, there is little information about the behavior of primary cell cultures in meningiomas. Therefore, the present study analyzed the physiology of primary meningioma cultures under different tissue conditions. For the present study, 10 meningioma tissue samples were collected after surgery at Saarland University (Homburg, Germany) between June 2022 and December 2022. Primary cell cultures were separately established on the day of surgery and 1 day later, before the tissues were stored overnight in nutrient solutions. Cultures were split into two flasks, one was used for fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), whereas the other was frozen in liquid nitrogen. After 6 months, frozen cultures were thawed and recultivated. The proliferation rates were found to be ≥80% for cell cultures as a minimum. No significant difference was found between cultures established on the surgery day or postoperative day 1 in terms of proliferation rate and growth pattern. FISH revealed loss of the short arm of chromosome 1 (1p) in one meningioma, loss of the long arm of chromosome 22 (22q) in three samples, combined 1p and 22q loss in three samples, and diploid chromosome sets in three samples. In total, 16 out of 17 initially shock‑frozen specimens were successfully recultivated after 6 months of cryopreservation. To conclude, meningioma cultures appeared to proliferate similarly regardless of whether the tissue was processed on the day of surgery or the following day, if viable cells were present. Frozen cultures could be revived after 6 months if cells remained viable. FISH provided evidence that primary meningioma cultures accurately reflected initial chromosomal aberrations of the tumor, even after freezing.