Establishment and characterization of a new colon cancer cell line from liver metastases, CRC-X1

The scarcity of preclinical models for colon cancer liver metastasis significantly impedes research progress, underscoring the critical need to establish such models. In this study, we performed primary culture of fresh liver metastatic tissue derived from colon cancer and successfully established a novel colon cancer cell line of Chinese origin, designated CRC-X1, derived from liver metastases. Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling confirmed CRC-X1 as a novel cell line. The cell line has been passaged stably up to the 59th generation, with a population doubling time of 60 h. Karyotype analysis revealed that 90% of the cells exhibited a near-triploid karyotype, while 10% displayed a near-tetraploid karyotype, with a representative karyotype of 71,XXXX, der(5), inv(9), der(11), der(22). Subcutaneous xenograft implantation in NCG mice resulted in a tumor formation rate of 60%. Drug sensitivity testing showed that CRC-X1 cells are sensitive to 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) but resistant to oxaliplatin. Immunohistochemical (IHC) staining of xenograft tumors was consistent with that of the original patient tumor tissue. CRC-X1 represents a valuable experimental model for investigating the mechanisms underlying colon cancer liver metastasis and for screening antitumor agents.