Colorectal Cell Lines

Colon cancer, also known as colorectal or large bowel cancer is the third most common cancer in the Western world (preceded only by breast and lung cancer by numbers of incidence). ECACC has over 45 cell lines derived from colorectal cancers available (see list below).

More colorectal cell lines are scheduled for addition to the catalogue. For example, 11 new colon cancer lines have been deposited by Dr. Susan Kirkland, Imperial College, London. These cell lines will appear in the catalogue in the next few months.

One of the most recent additions to the colorectal collection is the human colon cancer cell line, HCA-7 Colony 29, cat no. 02091238, which expresses Cox-2. An interesting feature of this cell line is that it forms polarised epithelial sheets allowing examination of the trafficking and release of biomolecules in vitro. Cyclooxygenases (COXs) are key enzymes in the conversion of arachidonic acid to prostaglandins and other eicosanoids. It has been found that colonic polyps and cancers overexpress Cox-2 and that the inhibition of this enzyme by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs decreases the risk of colonic neoplasia. This cell line is useful for studying the role of Cox-2 in cancer cell biology and the investigation of colorectal epithelial cell polarity.

The list below shows the colorectal cell lines available from the ECACC General Cell Collection. If you are interested in searching the ECACC General Cell Collection click here.