Luciferase Reporter Cell Line - SW620

The SW620 cell line was established in 1976 by A. Leibovitz and colleagues from a lymph node metastasis originating from the same colorectal adenocarcinoma as the SW480 line, which was derived the prior year from the primary tumor of the same 51-year-old Caucasian male patient (blood type A, Rh+). The parental line exhibits epithelial morphology with adherent growth, a hyperdiploid stemline karyotype (modal number 50), and is highly tumorigenic in nude mice. It carries a homozygous KRAS G12V mutation, along with TP53 R273H and P309S alterations, and is classified as microsatellite stable (MSS). SW620 is one of the NCI-60 cell line panel members and secretes only low levels of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The Luciferase Reporter Cell Line - SW620 is generated by stable integration of a firefly luciferase expression cassette into the parental line, enabling real-time bioluminescent tracking both in vitro and in vivo with signal output that correlates linearly with viable cell count.

This reporter cell line supports a wide range of applications in colorectal cancer research. Because SW620 and SW480 form an isogenic pair derived from the same patient, the luciferase-labeled version is particularly well suited for comparative studies of primary tumor versus metastatic progression using bioluminescence imaging in orthotopic and subcutaneous xenograft models. It is also used in high-throughput drug screening to evaluate candidate compounds targeting KRAS-mutant colorectal cancers, and in dual-luciferase reporter assays for investigating promoter activity, miRNA binding, and signaling pathway regulation. Given the MSS phenotype and clinically prevalent KRAS G12V mutation, the SW620 luciferase reporter line offers a translationally relevant platform for assessing therapeutic efficacy in the context of these specific genetic backgrounds.