Identifying the invasive nature of a distinct population from A549 adenocarcinomic lung cancer cell

Since 1987, cancer has been the leading cause of death in Taiwan. However, chemotherapy resistance in metastatic cancer is the major obstacle to effectively treat cancers. To solve this problem, understanding the mechanism of metastasis is critical. In this study, we used a transwell system to select a metastatic subpopulation from the human lung cancer cell line A549. The invasive and migratory activities of this cell line were analyzed with transwell selection and wound healing assay, respectively. Moreover, migration-stimulating factors, such as SNAI-1 and mPR, were detected with Western blotting. In comparison to A549, enhanced invasiveness, motility, and migration-stimulating factor expression were observed in the invasive lung cancer cell line A549-I5. These cell lines provide a useful tool for the further study of the biologic properties of lung cancer in vitro.