A549-hNIS-Neo/eGFP-Puro is a polyclonal population of the human lung carcinoma cell line A549 (ATCC® CCL-185™). To achieve stable reporter expression in the polyclonal population, parental A549 cells were transduced with LV-hNIS-Neo (LV013) and LV-eGFP-PGK-Puro (LV031) and selected using G418 and puromycin. LV-hNIS-Neo encodes the human sodium iodide symporter (hNIS) cDNA linked to the neomycin resistance gene (Neo) via an internal ribosomal entry site (IRES) under the spleen focus-forming virus (SFFV) promoter. LV-eGFP-PGK-Puro encodes the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) cDNA under the SFFV promoter and the puromycin resistance gene under the phosphoglycerate kinase I (PGK) promoter.

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This cell line has been tested for mycoplasma contamination and is certified mycoplasma free.

The parental A549 cell line has been authenticated and certified free of interspecies cross contamination by short tandem repeat (STR) profiling with 9 STR loci.

Replication Competent Lentivirus (RCL) Test (including a test report) is available for this cell line at an added cost.  Contact us to learn more.

Morphology

Low and high density cell morphology (200x).

NIS Expression

Cells were incubated with I-125 for one hour in the presence or absence of KClO4, an inhibitor of NIS-mediated iodine uptake. Radioiodine concentrated within the cells was measured with a gamma counter.

eGFP Expression

A549-hNIS-Neo/eGFP-Puro (green) or control (A549-hNIS-Neo; grey) cells were fixed with paraformaldehyde and analyzed by flow cytometry (20,000 events).

Complete Growth Medium: DMEM supplemented with 10% FBS, 1X Penicillin/Streptomycin, 0.6 mg/mL G418, and 1 µg/mL puromycin.

The addition of G418 and puromycin to the complete growth medium maintains high dual reporter expression over continued passage of the cells. It is highly recommended, especially if the cells undergo multiple passages prior to being used for studies.

These cells should be grown in the indicated medium and passaged when they reach confluency. For routine passaging, cells are recommended to be split at a 1:8 ratio every 3-4 days.

These cells are suitable for in vitro and in vivo experimentation.

A549 cells are a xenograph model for lung adenocarcinoma and form primary tumor and pulmonary metastases post implantation into immunosuppressed mice.^1,2

The NIS transgene facilitates high resolution, 3D SPECT/PET imaging of implanted cells. eGFP is not recommended for whole animal in-live imaging. Rather, samples can be collected post mortem for analysis by conventional fluorescence microscopy or flow cytometry.  eGFP is immunogenic and may cause tumor rejection in immunocompetent mice. For the most consistent results, immunocompromised mice are recommended for studies.

The cells can be amplified in vitro and used to generate additional frozen stocks. Cryopreservation of low passage stocks is recommended. Frozen stocks should be preserved in a designated cryopreservation medium.

These cells were generated via lentivirus transduction. The lentiviral vector used for transduction was a self-inactivating (SIN) vector in which the viral enhancer and promoter have been deleted. Transcription inactivation of the LTR in the SIN provirus increases biosafety by preventing mobilization by replication competent viruses and enables regulated expression of the genes from the internal promoters without cis-acting effects of the LTR³. Nevertheless, all work with these cells should be performed under biosafety-level 2 (BSL2) conditions by trained personnel. Institutional requirements may permit handling of these cells under BSL1 conditions if certain criteria are met.

References:
¹Jiang et al. Oncogene. 2001. 20:2254-2263.
²Jenkins et al. Clin & Exp Metastasis. 2003. 20:733-744
³Miyoshi et al. J Virol 1998. 72:8150-8157.