Establishment and molecular characterization of HCB-541, a novel and aggressive human cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma cell line

• Published in: Human cell : official journal of Human Cell Research Society 2024, Vol.37 (4), p.1170-1183
• Main Authors: Laus, Ana Carolina, Gomes, Izabela Natalia Faria, da Silva, Aline Larissa Virginio, da Silva, Luciane Sussuchi, Milan, Mirella Baroni, AparecidaTeixeira, Silvia, Martin, Ana Carolina Baptista Moreno, do Nascimento Braga Pereira, Letícia, de Carvalho, Carlos Eduardo Barbosa, Crovador, Camila Souza, de Paula, Flávia Escremin, Nascimento, Flávia Caroline, de Freitas, Helder Teixeira, de Lima Vazquez, Vinicius, Reis, Rui Manuel, da Silva-Oliveira, Renato José
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal models; Animals; Axl protein; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biopsy; Carboplatin; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - genetics; Carcinoma, Squamous Cell - pathology; Cell Biology; Cell Line; Cell Line, Tumor; Cisplatin; Cytokeratin; Epidermal growth factor receptors; Gene expression; Gynecology; Humans; Life Sciences; Metastases; Metastasis; Mice; Microsatellite instability; Morbidity; mRNA; Mutation; Oncology; p53 Protein; Proto-Oncogene Proteins p21(ras) - genetics; Reproductive Medicine; Skin cancer; Skin Neoplasms - genetics; Skin Neoplasms - pathology; Squamous cell carcinoma; Stem Cells; Surgery; Telomerase - genetics; Telomerase - metabolism; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - genetics; Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 - metabolism; Tumors; Xenografts
• ISSN: 1749-0774; 0914-7470; 1749-0774
• DOI: 10.1007/s13577-024-01054-1

Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) is a common type of skin cancer that can result in significant morbidity, although it is usually well-managed and rarely metastasizes. However, the lack of commercially available cSCC cell lines hinders our understanding of this disease. This study aims to establish and characterize a new metastatic cSCC cell line derived from a Brazilian patient. A tumor biopsy was taken from a metastatic cSCC patient, immortalized, and named HCB-541 after several passages. The cytokeratin expression profile, karyotypic alterations, mutational analysis, mRNA and protein differential expression, tumorigenic capacity in xenograft models, and drug sensitivity were analyzed. The HCB-541 cell line showed a doubling time between 20 and 30 h and high tumorigenic capacity in the xenograft mouse model. The HCB-541 cell line showed hypodiploid and hypotetraploidy populations. We found pathogenic mutations in TP53 p.(Arg248Leu), HRAS (Gln61His) and TERT promoter (C228T) and high-level microsatellite instability (MSI-H) in both tumor and cell line. We observed 37 cancer-related genes differentially expressed when compared with HACAT control cells. The HCB-541 cells exhibited high phosphorylated levels of EGFR, AXL, Tie, FGFR, and ROR2, and high sensitivity to cisplatin, carboplatin, and EGFR inhibitors. Our study successfully established HCB-541, a new cSCC cell line that could be useful as a valuable biological model for understanding the biology and therapy of metastatic skin cancer.