The human prostatic carcinoma cell line LNCaP and its derivatives. An overview.

The FGC (fast growing colony) line, a derivative of the LNCaP cell line shares all the main characteristics, including its androgen dependence, described for the original LNCaP cultures. A number of sublines originated from the FGC line which were characterized with respect to their response to steroid-depleted serum and to the synthetic androgen, R1881. After subcloning the FGC line a series of clones was isolated with distinct patterns of androgen-responsiveness. Among the sublines and clones studied, the FGC, FGC-JB and FGC clone-9 were androgen-dependent, whereas subline LNO, R and presumably also FGC clone-22 were androgen-independent. Distinct morphological differences were observed between the cells of the various sublines and between clone-9 and 22. The LNCaP cell line, its descending sublines and clonal derivatives provide a suitable in vitro model for studying different aspects of androgen-responsiveness of human prostate cancer.