BC-3C Cells

BC3c is a human bladder carcinoma cell line established from a surgical biopsy of an invasive solid transitional cell carcinoma derived from an adult female donor. The cell line was generated from primary tumor tissue through enzymatic dissociation and serial passaging in McCoy’s 5A medium supplemented with fetal calf serum. BC3c cells display an epithelial morphology with adherent growth and form cohesive colonies in vitro. Immunocytochemical characterization confirmed epithelial origin through expression of cytokeratins 8 and 19, while mesenchymal markers such as vimentin and fibroblast-associated antigens were absent. The cells do not express α-fetoprotein or carcinoembryonic antigen. Cytogenetic analysis demonstrated a near-triploid karyotype with multiple structural and numerical chromosomal abnormalities, consistent with genomic instability typical of invasive urothelial carcinoma.

Molecular analysis did not detect activating mutations in H-ras codon 12 or K-ras codons 12 and 13, and no mutations were identified in examined hotspot codons of TP53. Furthermore, there was no accumulation of p53 protein detected by immunocytochemistry, suggesting the absence of common p53 stabilization events in this model. BC3c cells exhibit rapid in vitro proliferation, including growth under low-serum conditions, indicative of autocrine growth stimulation. Conditioned medium from BC3c cultures supports proliferation, supporting the presence of endogenous growth-promoting factors.