NPC/HK1 Cells
General information
| Description | NPC/HK1 (also designated HK-1 or HK1) is a human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) cell line established from the nasopharynx of a 58-year-old Chinese male patient. NPC/HK1 grows as an adherent epithelial monolayer with a doubling time of approximately 28 ± 2 hours. NPC/HK1 is a widely used model for undifferentiated NPC, a malignancy strongly associated with Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection and particularly prevalent in Southeast Asian populations. The line was established in Hong Kong and provides an EBV-negative or low-EBV model that complements EBV-positive NPC lines for studying EBV-independent aspects of NPC biology. NPC/HK1 is applicable in studies of nasopharyngeal carcinoma biology, epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, invasion and metastasis, EBV biology (infection and latency comparisons with EBV-positive lines), EGFR pathway signalling, and chemotherapy/radiotherapy sensitivity. The line is used in xenograft models in immunocompromised hosts and as part of NPC cell line panels for comparative pharmacological and molecular studies. Its Chinese male donor origin reflects the population at highest risk for NPC and is relevant for studies of EBV epidemiology and NPC immunogenomics. |
|---|---|
| Organism | Human |
| Tissue | Pharynx, nasopharynx |
| Disease | Nasopharyngeal carcinoma |
| Applications | Nasopharyngeal carcinoma research; EBV biology; EMT and invasion studies; EGFR pathway; chemotherapy/radiotherapy sensitivity; NPC xenograft models; NPC comparative cell line panels |
| Synonyms | HK1, HK-1 |
Characteristics
| Age | 58 years |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Ethnicity | Chinese |
| Morphology | Epithelial-like |
| Cell type | Epithelial cells |
| Growth properties | Adherent |
Regulatory Data
| Citation | NPC/HK1 (Cytion catalog number 305531) |
|---|---|
| Biosafety level | 1 |
| NCBI_TaxID | 9606 |
| CellosaurusAccession | CVCL_7084 |
Biomolecular Data
Handling
| Culture Medium | RPMI 1640, w: 2.0 mM stable Glutamine, w: 2.0 g/L NaHCO3 (Cytion article number 820700a) |
|---|---|
| Supplements | Supplement the medium with 10% FBS |
| Dissociation Reagent | Accutase |
| Doubling time | 28 +- 2 hours |
| Subculturing | Remove medium, wash with PBS without calcium and magnesium, cover with Accutase, incubate 8–10 min at RT, resuspend in medium, centrifuge 300×g 3 min, discard supernatant, reseed in fresh medium. |
| Split ratio | 1 to 5 |
| Seeding density | 1 to 3 × 10⁴ cells/cm² |
| Fluid renewal | Every 2 to 3 days |
| Freeze medium | As a cryopreservation medium, we use complete growth medium + 10% DMSO for adequate post-thaw viability. |
| Thawing and Culturing Cells |
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| Incubation Atmosphere | 37°C, 5% CO2, humidified atmosphere. |
| Shipping Conditions | Cryopreserved cell lines are shipped on dry ice in validated, insulated packaging with sufficient refrigerant to maintain approximately −78 °C throughout transit. On receipt, inspect the container immediately and transfer vials without delay to appropriate storage. |
| Storage Conditions | For long-term preservation, place vials in vapor-phase liquid nitrogen at about −150 to −196 °C. Storage at −80 °C is acceptable only as a short interim step before transfer to liquid nitrogen. |
Quality Control & Molecular Analysis
Certificate of Analysis (CoA)
| Lot Number | Certificate Type | Date | Catalog Number |
|---|---|---|---|
| 305531-080626 | Certificate of Analysis | 23. Jul. 2026 | 305531 |