Genetically Engineered Lung Cancer Cells for Analyzing Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition

Cell plasticity, defined as the ability to undergo phenotypical transformation in a reversible manner, is a physiological process that also exerts important roles in disease progression. Two forms of cellular plasticity are epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and its inverse process, mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET). These processes have been correlated to the poor outcome of different types of neoplasias as well as drug resistance development. Since EMT/MET are transitional processes, we generated and validated a reporter cell line. Specifically, a far-red fluorescent protein was knocked-in in-frame with the mesenchymal gene marker VIMENTIN (VIM) in H2170 lung cancer cells. The vimentin reporter cells (VRCs) are a reliable model for studying EMT and MET showing cellular plasticity upon a series of stimulations. These cells are a robust platform to dissect the molecular mechanisms of these processes, and for drug discovery in vitro and in vivo in the future.