Characterization of a new small cell lung cancer (SCLC) cell line STP54 derived from a metastatic bioptate of a combined type of SCLC with Non-SCLC component.

Abstract

Small cell lung cancer constitutes 15-20% cases of lung cancers, currently the leading cause of death from malignant diseases. It also causes the demise of >90% of affected individuals in 5 years. We have established a new SCLC cell line STP54 derived from fine needle aspirate of metastatic supraclavicular lymph node of 54 -year-old women for model experiments. The primary tumor was diagnosed by histopathological examination as combined type of small cell lung cancer with a non-small cell component. We cultured the cancer cells in the RPMI 1640 medium. In the long-term culture only the small cell component survived. The cell line was established after 30 passages and then characterized by performing cell morphology, cell growth analysis, tumorigenicity in vitro and flow cytometry analysis of selected markers (like NCAM, cytokeratines, HLA-ABC, Fas, Bcl-2, p53, CXCR4, CD210). The cells were growing in floating aggregates and show features suggesting its invasiveness. We suggest that this new cell line may serve as a valuable tool for further studies on lung tumor biology, molecular pathogenesis and metastatic mechanism.