Recently, it has been shown that VCaP prostate cancer cells produce the mouse xenotropic retrovirus Bxv-1, which was likely acquired by the cells during their xenotransplantation in mice.

ATCC® CRL-2876 ™ is a very slow growing cell line and can takexa0up to 48 hours to attach post-thaw and after subcultures. It can routinely take a minimum of 2 weeks or more for cells to reach approximately 50% confluence with a dense mixture of adherent cells, floating clusters and moderate to heavy debris is always present. The cells may recover better in a T-25 flask compared to a T75 flask. Do not discard any floating cells that may be present during medium changes and subcultures. Instead, spin them down using gentle centrifugation and add them back to the adherent population. The cells attach in small tightly formed clusters and some single cells. As the cells attach and start to proliferate and spread, they will grow as flattened epithelial-like islands of tightly packed cells.

1. Remove and discard culture medium.
2. Briefly rinse the cell layer with Hanks Balanced Salt Solution or 0.25% (w/v) Trypsin- 0.53 mM EDTA solution to remove all traces of serum that contains trypsin inhibitor.
3. Add 1.0 to 2.0 mL of Trypsin-EDTA solution to flask and observe cells under an inverted microscope until cell layer is dispersed (usually within 5 to 15 minutes).
   Note: To avoid clumping do not agitate the cells by hitting or shaking the flask while waiting for the cells to detach. Cells that are difficult to detach may be placed at 37°C to facilitate dispersal.
4. Add 6.0 to 8.0 mL of complete growth medium and aspirate cells by gently pipetting.
5. Add appropriate aliquots of the cell suspension to new culture vessels.
   An inoculum of 2 X 10⁴ to 4 X 10⁴ viable cells/cm² is recommended.
6. Incubate cultures at 37°C.

Korenchuk S, et al. VCaP, a cell-based model system of human prostate cancer . In Vivo 15: 163-168, 2001. PubMed: 11317522

Knouf EC, et al. Multiple integrated copies and high-level production of the human retrovirus XMRV from 22Rv1 prostate carcinoma cells. J. Virol. 83: 7353-7356, 2009. PubMed: 19403664

Sfanos KS, et al. Identification of replication competent murine gamma retroviruses in commonly used prostate cancer cell lines. PLoS One 6:e20874, 2011.