Adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cell line (A549) (A549)

Adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells, commonly known as the A549 cell line, were first established in 1972 from a lung carcinoma of a 58-year-old male (Giard et al., 1973). These cells serve as a premier model for Type II pulmonary epithelial cells, characterized by their ability to synthesize lecithin and contain high levels of multi-lamellar bodies (ATCC, 2024). In oncology research, A549 is a standard model for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), particularly for investigating the role of the KRAS G12S mutation and the loss of the tumor suppressor STK11 (Cooper et al., 2013). While A549 cells are used to test the efficacy of various chemotherapeutic agents like cisplatin and paclitaxel, the cell line itself is a complex biological system rather than a single therapeutic target (NIH, 2024). Consequently, it is categorized as a model system for drug screening and mechanistic studies in respiratory and cancer biology.

Other names

A549 lung cancer cellsHuman lung carcinoma cell lineA549 cells

Not applicable; A549 is a cell line used as a research model, not a specific molecular target.