Need advise on SW480 Morphology. - (Nov/04/2012 )

Hi guys.

I've recently started growing SW480 ordered from ATCC about slightly less than a month ago. They were received from ATCC at passage 100. The odd thing about these SW480 is that apart from the regular epithelial morphology that I've observed, there seem to be odd cell morphologies forming in the culture as well (as shown in the attached picture). They look like polynucleated structures, is this normal? Also they seem rather grainy so I don't really think they're very healthy.

Growth conditions for these cells have been maintained in L15 medium, supplemented with 10% FBS and 2mM L-glutamine and incubated at 37oC in 100% atmosphere. Would appreciate any opnions and views from anyone especially if you've cultured SW480 yourself. Thanks.

Senescent cells...