A named line is chosen for a lesion or a behaviour rather than for a tumour type, and a result on one line is a result about that line. That is why the useful unit is a panel, and why every line in it is profiled on arrival.
sw480 cells, listed as the sw480 cell line
sw480 cells and the sw480 cell line are the same colorectal line under two catalogue names, derived from a primary tumour whose metastasis gave a second line often used beside it. The pair is what makes it useful, since comparing them is comparing a primary and a metastatic derivative of one patient's disease.
A nalm6 cell line and engineered cell work
A nalm6 cell line is a B cell precursor leukaemia line used as a target in cytotoxicity and engineered cell experiments, chosen for a stable surface antigen and easy transduction rather than for fidelity to a patient. Sublines circulate with different antigen levels, which is why the source and passage belong in the method.
An sw48 cell line and isogenic sets
An sw48 cell line is the usual parental background for isogenic sets in which a single mutation is engineered in, and the value of such a set is that everything except the edit is constant. Isogenic lines drift over passage like any other, so they are banked early and re-profiled.
skbr3 cells and a receptor amplified line
skbr3 cells are amplified for the receptor that defines their subtype, which makes them the standard sensitive control for that pathway and a poor general model of the disease. Resistant derivatives exist and belong on the same plate rather than in place of them.
bxpc3 cells and pancreatic models
bxpc3 cells are a pancreatic line notable for lacking the mutation most of that cancer carries, which is precisely why they are used as the comparator against lines that have it. Choosing this line without that comparator is the commonest way a pancreatic experiment answers nothing.
An h358 cell line and a mutant allele
An h358 cell line carries a specific mutant allele of a small GTPase and no functional p53, which makes it a standard model for inhibitors of that allele and means any result has two variables in it. The matched wild type line is what separates them.
A ramos cell line and B cell signalling
A ramos cell line is a Burkitt lymphoma line with a surface immunoglobulin that can be crosslinked, which is why it is the workhorse for B cell receptor signalling rather than for the lymphoma itself. It grows in suspension and is easy to stimulate, which is what makes the signalling readout quick.
Questions people ask about sw480
Why a panel rather than one line?
A result on one line is a result about that line. A lesion is demonstrated by a line with it and one without.
What does profiling on arrival prove?
Identity by short tandem repeats. It does not prove the subline, so source and passage still belong in the method.
Why use BxPC-3?
Because it lacks the mutation most pancreatic lines carry, which makes it the comparator rather than the model.