Establishment and characterization of a lung cancer cell line, SMC-L001, from a lung adenocarcinoma

Lung cancer cell lines are a valuable tool for elucidating lung tumorigenesis and developing novel therapies. However, the majority of cell lines currently available were established from tumors in patients of Caucasian origin, limiting our ability to investigate how cancers in patients of different ethnicities differ from one another in terms of tumor biology and drug responses. In this study, we established a human non-small cell lung carcinoma cell line, SMC-L001, and characterized its genome and tumorigenic potential. SMC-L001 cells were isolated from a Korean lung adenocarcinoma patient (male, pStage IIb) and were propagated in culture. SMC-L001 cells were adherent. DNA fingerprinting analysis indicated that the SMC-L001 cell line originated from parental tumor tissue. Comparison of the genomic profile of the SMC-L001 cell line and the original tumor revealed an identical profile with 739 mutations in 46 cancer-related genes, including mutations in TP53 and KRAS. Furthermore, SMC-L001 cells were highly tumorigenic, as evidenced by the induction of solid tumors in immunodeficient mice. In summary, we established a new lung cancer cell line with point mutations in TP53 and KRAS from a Korean lung adenocarcinoma patient that will be useful for investigating ethnic differences in lung cancer biology and drug response.