Adenocarcinomic human alveolar basal epithelial cells (A549)

A549 cells are a human lung carcinoma cell line first established in 1972 from an explant of alveolar cell carcinoma tissue from a 58-year-old male (Giard et al., 1973; ATCC). These cells are characterized as adenocarcinomic alveolar basal epithelial cells and are widely used as a model for Type II pulmonary epithelial cells because they possess the ability to synthesize lecithin and contain high levels of unsaturated fatty acids (Lieber et al., 1976; NIH). In the context of drug discovery, A549 cells are extensively utilized for screening anti-cancer drugs, studying drug metabolism, and modeling respiratory infections or inflammation (Foster et al., 1998; PubMed). They are known to harbor a homozygous KRAS mutation (G12S), which makes them a specific model for studying KRAS-driven lung cancers (Yoon et al., 2010; ScienceDirect). However, A549 is a multi-component biological system rather than a discrete molecular target or receptor; therefore, it is classified as an incorrect entry for a specific target molecule.

Other names

A549 cell lineA549 cellsHuman lung carcinoma cell lineAlveolar epithelial type II-like cells

Not applicable as A549 is a complex cell line model used for drug screening and not a specific molecular target; drugs tested on these cells typically target internal pathways such as EGFR or KRAS.