Establishment and Characterization of Gemcitabine-Resistant Bladder Cancer Cell Lines

Bladder cancer (BC), the most common malignancy of the urinary tract, is the tenth most common cancer worldwide. Patients diagnosed with metastatic urothelial bladder cancer typically receive chemotherapy containing gemcitabine and/or cisplatin. Unfortunately, the efficacy of this treatment is often limited, resulting in a median survival of 12-14 months. The main reason for treatment failure is the development of resistance to chemotherapy. Currently, the molecular mechanisms of bladder cancer chemoresistance are being actively studied, including in model systems. However, the significance of ongoing in vitro studies is limited due to several factors. Among them are loss of drug resistance, low levels of resistance, and small molecular changes that are difficult to detect and analyze. The aim of this study is to obtain and characterize gemcitabine-resistant bladder cancer cell lines. The objectives of this study are: 1. generate chemoresistant bladder cancer cell lines by prolonged exposure to gemcitabine; 2. compare the cellular characteristics of the resulting chemoresistant cell lines and parental bladder cancer cell lines; 3. analyse the molecular characteristics of chemoresistant with chemosensitive bladder cancer cell lines. The study of chemoresistant bladder cancer cell lines is of great practical importance in the field of oncology. We have obtained unique cell models of bladder cancer resistant to gemcitabine. The results of this study may provide a basis for the development of future therapeutic strategies to overcome chemoresistance of bladder cancer. In vitro cellular models can reproduce clinically relevant results and may be suitable for the identification of novel agents for the treatment of bladder cancer. This study also has implications for improving prognostic outcomes through more personalized treatment approaches based on individual tumor characteristics.