The prevalence of alcohol-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has been increasing during the last decade. Cancer research requires cell lines suitable for both
in vitro
and
in vivo
assays. However, there is a lack of cell lines with a high
in vivo
metastatic capacity for this HCC subtype. Herein, a new HCC cell line was established, named HCC-ZJ, using cells from a patient diagnosed with alcohol-related HCC. The karyotype of HCC-ZJ was 46, XY, del (p11.2). Whole-exome sequencing identified several genetic variations in HCC-Z that occur frequently in alcohol-associated HCC, such as mutations in
TERT
,
CTNNB1
,
ARID1A
,
CDKN2A
,
SMARCA2
, and
HGF
. Cell counting kit-8 assays, colony formation assays, and Transwell assays were performed to evaluate the proliferation, migration, and sensitivity to sorafenib and lenvatinib of HCC-Z
in vitro
. HCC-ZJ showed a robust proliferation rate, a weak foci-forming ability, a strong migration capacity, and a moderate invasion tendency
in vitro
. Finally, the tumorigenicity and metastatic capacity of HCC-Z were evaluated using a subcutaneous xenograft model, an orthotopic xenograft model, and a tail-veil injection model. HCCZJ exhibited strong tumorigenicity in the subcutaneous xenograft and orthotopic tumor models. Moreover, HCC-ZJ spontaneously formed pulmonary metastases in the orthotopic tumor model. In summary, a new HCC cell line derived from a patient with alcohol-related HCC was established, which showed a high metastatic capacity and could be applied for
in vitro
and
in vivo
experiments during pre-clinical research.
Highlights
• An alcohol-related HCC cell line, HCC-ZJ, was established
• HCC-ZJ was applicable for
in vitro
functional experiment and gene editing
• HCC-ZJ was applicable for
in vivo
tumor growth and spontaneous metastasis models