H-209

The H209 cell line, also known as NCI-H209, is a classical human Small Cell Lung Cancer (SCLC) cell line developed by Gazdar and coworkers in 1979. It was obtained from the site of metastasis of a 55-year-old white male in the bone marrow before any treatment. The line is genetically hyperdiploid with a median chromosomal number of 49 and has homozygous mutations in RB1(p.Cys706Phe) and TP53(c.673-2A>T) gene.

In H209 cells display an unusual growth behavior in culture, growing as tight, spherical aggregates in suspension instead of attaching to the flask surface. Only cells within these aggregates remain alive, but the culture media generally contains a considerable quantity of cellular debris, a normal characteristic of this line. H209 is a neuroendocrine tumor model that expresses high levels of typical SCLC indicators such neuron-specific enolase, creatine kinase-BB, L-DOPA decarboxylase, and bombesin-like immunoreactivity.

It is normally cultured in a serum-supplemented rich basal media under conventional conditions (37°C, 5% CO₂). The H209 line is widely used in oncology research for the study of SCLC pathology, neuroendocrine differentiation, drug screening and tumor biology due to its unique biological characteristics.