A549 cells are adenocarcinomic

human Humans (''Homo sapiens'') or modern humans are the most common and widespread species of primate, and the last surviving species of the genus ''Homo''. They are Hominidae, great apes characterized by their Prehistory of nakedness and clothing ...

alveolar Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit. Uses in anatomy and zoology * Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs ** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte ** Alveolar duct ** Alveolar macrophage * M ...

basal

epithelial Epithelium or epithelial tissue is a thin, continuous, protective layer of cells with little extracellular matrix. An example is the epidermis, the outermost layer of the skin. Epithelial ( mesothelial) tissues line the outer surfaces of man ...

cells Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a d ...

, and constitute a

cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism that would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cells ...

that was first developed in 1972 by D. J. Giard, et al. through the removal and culturing of cancerous lung tissue in the

explant In biology, explant culture is a technique to organotypically culture cells from a piece or pieces of tissue or organ removed from a plant or animal. The term ''explant'' can be applied to samples obtained from any part of the organism. The extract ...

ed tumor of a 58-year-old caucasian male. The cells are used as models for the study of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and the development of drug therapies against it.

Characteristics

A549 cells, as found in the lung tissue of their origin, are squamous and responsible for the diffusion of some substances, such as water and electrolytes, across

alveoli Alveolus (; pl. alveoli, adj. alveolar) is a general anatomical term for a concave cavity or pit. Uses in anatomy and zoology * Pulmonary alveolus, an air sac in the lungs ** Alveolar cell or pneumocyte ** Alveolar duct ** Alveolar macrophage * M ...

. If A549 cells are cultured ''in vitro'', they grow as a monolayer; adherent or attaching to the culture flask. The cells are able to synthesize

lecithin Lecithin ( ; from the Ancient Greek "yolk") is a generic term to designate any group of yellow-brownish fatty substances occurring in animal and plant tissues which are amphiphilic – they attract both water and fatty substances (and so ar ...

and contain high levels of unsaturated fatty acids, which are important to maintain membrane phospholipids. A549 cells are widely used as a type II pulmonary epithelial cell model for drug metabolism and as a transfection host. When grown for a sufficiently long time in cell culture, A549 cells may begin to differentiate, as signaled by the presence of multilamellar bodies.

Usage

A549 cells have served as models of alveolar Type II pulmonary epithelium, finding utility in research examining the metabolic processing of lung tissue and possible mechanisms of drug delivery to the tissue. In context of lung cancer

drug development Drug development is the process of bringing a new pharmaceutical drug to the market once a lead compound has been identified through the process of drug discovery. It includes preclinical research on microorganisms and animals, filing for regu ...

, the cells have served as testing grounds for novel drugs - such as

paclitaxel Paclitaxel, sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical cancer, and pancreatic cancer. It is administered b ...

docetaxel Docetaxel (DTX or DXL), sold under the brand name Taxotere among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes breast cancer, head and neck cancer, stomach cancer, prostate cancer and non-small-cel ...

, and

bevacizumab Bevacizumab, sold under the brand name Avastin among others, is a monoclonal antibody medication used to treat a number of types of cancers and a specific eye disease. For cancer, it is given by slow injection into a vein (intravenous) and use ...

- both ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' and ''

in vivo Studies that are ''in vivo'' (Latin for "within the living"; often not italicized in English) are those in which the effects of various biological entities are tested on whole, living organisms or cells, usually animals, including humans, an ...

'' through

cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cell (biology), cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. After cells of interest have been Cell isolation, isolated from living tissue, ...

and

xenograft Xenotransplantation (''xenos-'' from the Greek meaning "foreign" or strange), or heterologous transplant, is the transplantation of living cells, tissues or organs from one species to another. Single-cell tracking of A549 has enabled the elaboration of pedigree-tree profiles and demonstrate correlations in behavior among sister cells and their descendants. Such observations of correlations can be used as proxy measurements to identify cellular stress and inheritance as a response to drug treatment. A549 has also been employed in viral research and associated

protein expression Protein expression may refer to: *Gene expression, the processes that convert the information of DNA genes into a functional copies of mRNA in living cells *Protein production Protein production is the biotechnological process of generating a ...

changes as a consequence of viral infection. Although A549 is a cancer cell line, it has also been studied for its response to

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

, specifically the production of

chemokine Chemokines (), or chemotactic cytokines, are a family of small cytokines or signaling proteins secreted by cells that induce directional movement of leukocytes, as well as other cell types, including endothelial and epithelial cells. In addit ...

s as it is induced by the invading bacteria.

References

External links

Cellosaurus entry for A549
Human cell lines Epithelial cells {{Cell-biology-stub