SW480-Luc

SW480-Luc is a bioluminescent derivative of the human SW480 colon adenocarcinoma cell line, engineered to stably express a firefly luciferase reporter gene. The parental SW480 cell line was established from a primary colon adenocarcinoma of a 51-year-old Caucasian male patient and is widely used as a model of primary colorectal cancer. SW480 cells exhibit epithelial-like morphology and harbor key oncogenic mutations including KRAS G12V, TP53 R273H and P309S, and APC truncation, making this line a relevant model for studying the role of Wnt/β-catenin and KRAS signaling in colorectal cancer. Importantly, SW480 was derived from the same patient as SW620 but represents the primary tumor, allowing comparative studies of primary versus metastatic colorectal cancer biology.

The stable luciferase integration in SW480-Luc enables sensitive, quantitative bioluminescence imaging (BLI) of tumor burden in subcutaneous and orthotopic xenograft models using immunocompromised hosts. The emitted luminescent signal correlates with viable tumor cell number, supporting noninvasive longitudinal monitoring of tumor engraftment, growth kinetics, and therapeutic response. SW480-Luc is widely used for in vivo evaluation of KRAS-targeted agents, Wnt pathway inhibitors, and chemotherapeutic regimens in colorectal cancer, as well as for comparative studies with the matched metastatic SW620 line.

SW480-Luc retains the established molecular characteristics of the parental SW480 line, including KRAS, TP53, and APC mutations. The luciferase modification substantially enhances experimental throughput and sensitivity for in vivo pharmacodynamic studies. Researchers should verify luciferase activity, mutational profile, and growth kinetics under their specific experimental conditions prior to large-scale preclinical use.

37°C, 5% CO₂, humidified atmosphere.

1. Confirm that the vial remains deeply frozen upon delivery, as cells are shipped on dry ice to maintain optimal temperatures during transit.

2. Upon receipt, either store the cryovial immediately at temperatures below -150°C to ensure the preservation of cellular integrity, or proceed to step 3 if immediate culturing is required.

3. For immediate culturing, swiftly thaw the vial by immersing it in a 37°C water bath with clean water and an antimicrobial agent, agitating gently for 40-60 seconds until a small ice clump remains.

4. Perform all subsequent steps under sterile conditions in a flow hood, disinfecting the cryovial with 70% ethanol before opening.

5. Carefully open the disinfected vial and transfer the cell suspension into a 15 ml centrifuge tube containing 8 ml of room-temperature culture medium, mixing gently.

6. Centrifuge the mixture at 200 x g for 5 minutes, carefully discard the supernatant containing freezing medium.

7. Follow the procedure described under Post-Thaw Recovery

For long-term preservation, place vials in vapor-phase liquid nitrogen at about −150 to −196 °C. Storage at −80 °C is acceptable only as a short interim step before transfer to liquid nitrogen.

Cryopreserved cell lines are shipped on dry ice in validated, insulated packaging with sufficient refrigerant to maintain approximately −78 °C throughout transit. On receipt, inspect the container immediately and transfer vials without delay to appropriate storage.

At Cytion, we stand behind the quality and viability of our products. We guarantee that our cells will be viable at the start of culture for 60 days after shipment from our facilities. We assure that all materials conform to the specifications described in the Certificate of Analysis and/or Product Sheet.

For full details, please refer to our Warranty Statement.