• Origin: The PC-3 cell line is an androgen-independent model derived from a bone metastasis of a high-grade prostatic adenocarcinoma in a 62-year-old male. It serves as a critical in vitro tool for advancing research in prostate cancer biology, particularly for investigating mechanisms of tumor progression, metastasis, and the development of therapeutic resistance.
• Background Information: Luciferase-expressing cell lines are genetically engineered to produce luciferase enzymes, typically from fireflies (Photinus pyralis). These bioluminescent reporter systems enable real-time monitoring of cellular processes through light emission when exposed to substrate luciferin. Widely used in molecular biology, they facilitate gene expression studies, drug screening, and in vivo imaging applications.
• Gene targeting strategy: The exogenous promoter and luciferase coding sequence were randomly inserted into the PC-3 cells.
• Tumorigenicity: Confirmed in B-NDG mice.
• Application: The luciferase-expressing PC-3 tumor models enable in vivo bioluminescent imaging for monitoring tumor growth and metastasis, and facilitates high-throughput drug screening in preclinical studies.

Luminescence signal intensity of B-Tg(Luc) PC-3 cells. Cell lysates of wild-type PC-3 and B-Tg(Luc) PC-3 were measured using the Bright-Glo^TM luciferase Assay (Promega, Catalog No. E4030). B-Tg(Luc) PC-3 cells have a strong luminescence signal that is not present in wild-type PC-3 cells.

Establishment of orthotopic prostate cancer model. The mouse orthotopic prostate cancer was generated by implanting B-Tg(Luc) PC-3 cells in the dorsal prostate lobes of B-NDG mice (male, n=7), and the body weight and signal intensity of the mice were recorded weekly. (A) Signal intensity. (B) Body weight. (C) Raw bioluminescence images. The results showed that the tumor volume increased and body weight of mice slightly change during this study. This indicates that the cell line was successfully constructed as an orthotopic tumor model. H&E staining showed that tumor cells were seen in prostate(D). Values are expressed as mean ± SEM.