Misspellings or “miscellings”—Non‐verifiable and unknown cell lines in cancer research publications
Open accessPublished version of a preprint
Abstract
Reproducible laboratory research relies on correctly identified reagents. We have previously described gene research papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequence(s), including papers studying miR‐145 . Manually verifying reagent identities in 36 recent miR‐145 papers found that 56% and 17% of papers described misidentified nucleotide sequences and cell lines, respectively. We also found 5 cell line identifiers in miR‐145 papers with misidentified nucleotide sequences and cell lines, and 18 cell line identifiers published elsewhere, that did not represent indexed human cell lines. These 23 identifiers were described as non‐verifiable (NV), as their identities were unclear. Studying 420 papers that mentioned 8 NV identifier(s) found 235 papers (56%) that referred to 7 identifiers (BGC‐803, BSG‐803, BSG‐823, GSE‐1, HGC‐7901, HGC‐803, and MGC‐823) as independent cell lines. We could not find any publications describing how these cell lines were established. Six cell lines were sourced from cell line repositories with externally accessible online catalogs, but these cell lines were not indexed as claimed. Some papers also stated that short tandem repeat (STR) profiles had been generated for three cell lines, yet no STR profiles could be identified. In summary, as NV cell lines represent new challenges to research integrity and reproducibility, further investigations are required to clarify their status and identities.
AI snapshot
Written from the paper’s full text.
TL;DR
This study manually verified nucleotide sequence and cell line identities in recent human miR-145 cancer papers and then investigated “non-verifiable” (NV) cell line identifiers in the broader literature. It reports that many miR-145 papers contained wrongly identified nucleotide sequences or cell lines, and that 235/420 papers described 7 NV identifiers as independent cell lines despite no evidence of how those lines were established.
Key findings
- Among 36 miR-145 papers from 2020–2022, 20/36 (56%) contained at least one wrongly identified nucleotide sequence, and 20/24 (83%) papers that described nucleotide sequence reagents had such errors; 83/339 (24%) nucleotide sequence reagents were predicted to be wrongly identified, with a median of 3 (range 1–16) per paper.
- Of 21 miR-145 papers describing cell line experiments, 6/21 (29%) included at least one wrongly identified cell line; 15/107 (14%) cell line descriptions were wrongly identified, mostly involving HeLa-contaminated or otherwise misclassified lines.
- Across 420 papers mentioning 8 NV identifiers, 235 (56%) referred to 7 identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803, MGC-823) as independent cell lines, while 185/420 (44%) could represent misspellings of similarly named cell lines.
- No papers were found describing how the 7 NV cell lines were established; 6 were claimed to come from repositories with online catalogues, but the catalogues did not identify them, and although 16/420 (4%) papers mentioned STR profiling, none showed or described STR results for any NV cell line.
Methods
- Web of Science was searched for original articles published 01 January 2020–01 September 2022 with “miR-145” in the title, cancer topic, human field, and article document type; 36 papers were visually confirmed and manually screened for nucleotide sequence reagent identities.
- Cell line identifiers from miR-145 papers were queried against Cellosaurus; identifiers not indexed as human cell lines or only recognized as misspellings were classified as non-verifiable (NV).
- Google Scholar searches using NV identifiers, with and without “cells”/“cell line” and with/without dashes, identified 23 NV identifiers; 8 were analyzed in detail across 420 articles, with data extracted on article type, affiliations, cell line sources, STR profiling, and publication notices; citation data were collected on 29 January 2024.
Limitations
- The paper states that some relevant publications may have been missed, including because GSE-1 and TIE-3 also represent human genes, searches were conducted during 2023 and may have missed late-2023 papers, only papers with at least some English text were screened, not all papers mentioning BGC-803, GSE-1, and MGC-823 were analyzed, and not all NV identifiers or possible NV identifiers were studied.
- The paper also states that NV cell line stocks might be held in repositories lacking online catalogues, and that some papers referring to NV identifiers without similarly named cell lines could still have used the identifier as a misspelling.
- Evident from the text: the study relies on database indexing (Cellosaurus), Google Scholar retrieval, and manual inspection rather than experimental validation of cell line stocks or STR profiles.
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
0 of 89 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged
- Findingown data
In 420 papers that mentioned eight non-verifiable identifiers, 235 papers (56%) referred to seven of those identifiers as independent cell lines.
“Studying 420 papers that mentioned 8 non-verifiable identifier(s) found 235 papers (56%) that referred to 7 identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803, MGC-823) as independent cell lines.”
- Also stated in: § Descriptions of NV identifiers in the research literature · hedged
“While many instances of NV identifiers represented misspellings, more than half (235/420, 56%) of papers appeared to describe at least one of 7 NV identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803, and/or MGC-823) as independent cell lines (Tables 2 and 3, Data file S1).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § Descriptions of NV identifiers in the research literature · hedged
- Findingown data
Some papers claimed that STR profiles had been generated for three cell lines, but no such STR profiles could be found.
“Some papers also stated that STR profiles had been generated for 3 cell lines, yet no STR profiles could be identified.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Six cell lines were reported as obtained from cell line repositories with publicly accessible online catalogues, but those repositories did not index the cell lines under the claimed names.
“Six cell lines were sourced from cell line repositories with externally accessible online catalogues, but these cell lines were not indexed as claimed.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
No publications were found that described how these cell lines were established.
“We could not find any publications describing how these cell lines were established.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Among 36 recent miR-145 papers, 17% were found by manual verification to contain misidentified cell lines.
“Manually verifying reagent identities in 36 recent miR-145 papers found that 56% and 17% papers described misidentified nucleotide sequences and cell lines, respectively.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
- Findingown data
Among 36 recent miR-145 papers, 56% were found by manual verification to contain misidentified nucleotide sequences.
“Manually verifying reagent identities in 36 recent miR-145 papers found that 56% and 17% papers described misidentified nucleotide sequences and cell lines, respectively.”
- Also stated in: § miR-145 corpus and nucleotide sequence analyses · plain
“Wrongly identified nucleotide sequences were found in over half (20/36, 56%) of miR-145 papers”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Also stated in: § miR-145 corpus and nucleotide sequence analyses · plain
- Findingown data
Eighteen cell line identifiers reported in other publications did not correspond to indexed human cell lines.
“and 18 cell line identifiers published elsewhere, that did not represent indexed human cell lines”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
In the single paper that referred to TIE-3 as a cell line identifier, TIE-3 appeared to be a misspelling of TE-3.
“Similarly, in the single paper that referred to TIE-3 as a cell line identifier, TIE-3 appeared to be a misspelling of TE-3 (Table S4).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Fifteen of 107 cell line descriptions (14%) represented wrongly identified cell lines.
“Fourteen percent (15/107) of all cell line descriptions represented wrongly identified cell lines (Table 1)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Of the incorrect nucleotide sequences, 39/83 (47%) were predicted to target a different human gene or genomic sequence from the one claimed.
“or to target a different human gene or genomic sequence from that claimed (39/83, 47%) (Table S2, Data file S2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
In 185/420 (44%) papers, all eight non-verifiable identifiers could represent misspellings of similarly named cell lines, which were typically HeLa-contaminated cancer cell lines.
“This revealed that in 185/420 (44%) papers, all 8 NV identifiers could represent misspellings of similarly named cell lines, which were typically HeLa-contaminated cancer cell lines (38–41).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 4 sources checked- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingown data
Google Scholar searches identified 23 different non-verifiable cell line identifiers.
“Google Scholar searches successively identified 23 different NV cell line identifiers (Tables S4 and S5)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The 20 miR-145 papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences had a median of 3 wrongly identified sequences per paper, with a range of 1 to 16.
“with a median of 3 (range 1–16) wrongly identified sequences/ paper (Table 1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The 20 miR-145 papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences had been cited 382 times by January 2024.
“The 20 miR-145 papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequence(s) had been cited 382 times by January 2024 (Table S1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
A Web of Science search retrieved 36 original papers published between 1 January 2020 and 1 September 2022 that were visually confirmed to include human miR-145 in their titles and to concern human cancer.
“Querying Web of Science retrieved 36 original papers published between 01 January 2020 and 01 September 2022 that were visually confirmed to include human miR-145 in their titles and refer to human cancer.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
In the 79 papers that referred to both GSE-1 and GES-1, GSE-1 appeared to consistently represent a misspelling of GES-1.
“For example, in the 79 papers that referred to both GSE-1 and GES-1, GSE-1 appeared to consistently represent a misspelling of GES-1 (Data file S1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Six of 21 miR-145 papers that described cell lines (29%) included at least one wrongly identified cell line.
“almost one third (6/21, 29%) of miR-145 papers that described cell lines included at least one wrongly identified cell line”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
The remaining four non-verifiable identifiers appeared to represent misspellings of known cell lines.
“whereas the remaining 4 NV identifiers appeared to represent misspellings of known cell lines (Table S4).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Most of the 36 miR-145 papers (24, 67%) described nucleotide sequence reagents.
“Most (24/36, 67%) miR-145 papers described nucleotide sequence reagents, where these 24 miR-145 articles were published in 21 journals and examined miR-145 in the context of 15 human cancer types (Table S1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingcitation
Some original papers that described experiments involving non-verifiable cell line identifiers referred to those identifiers without mentioning any similarly named human cell line.
“Some original papers that described the results of experiments involving NV cell line identifier(s) referred to these identifier(s) without reference to any similarly named human cell line (26).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingown data
Of the incorrect nucleotide sequences, 43/83 (52%) were predicted to be non-targeting in human.
“Most incorrect nucleotide sequences were claimed targeting reagents that were either predicted to be non-targeting in human (43/83, 52%), or to target a different human gene or genomic sequence from that claimed (39/83, 47%) (Table S2, Data file S2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Many of these 23 non-verifiable identifiers were similar to contaminated cell line identifiers such as BGC-823, MGC-803 or SGC-7901.
“many of which were similar to contaminated cell line identifiers such as BGC-823, MGC-803 or SGC-7901 (Table S5).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Four non-verifiable identifiers, BGC-803, BSG-823, GSE-1 and HGC-7901, were referred to as independent cell lines in their corresponding index papers.
“Four NV identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901) were referred to as independent cell lines in the corresponding index papers”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Wrongly identified nucleotide sequences were found in 20/24 (83%) of miR-145 papers that described nucleotide sequence reagents.
“in most (20/24, 83%) miR-145 papers that described nucleotide sequence reagents”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingcitation
Two non-verifiable identifiers, BGC-803 and BSG-823, were recognized misspellings of the contaminated cell lines BGC-823 or MGC-803.
“Two NV identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-823) were recognized misspellings (26) of the contaminated cell lines BGC-823 or MGC-803 (38–41)”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 5 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingown data
In 235 papers (56%), seven NV identifiers-BGC-803, BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803 and MGC-823-were described as though they were independent cell lines.
“However, 235 (56%) papers unexpectedly described 7 NV identifier(s) (BGC-803, BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803, MGC-823) as if they were independent cell lines.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Thirty-four original papers referred to GSE-1 cells without mentioning GES-1.
“For example, 34 original papers referred to GSE-1 cells without mentioning GES-1 (Table 2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Papers such as literature reviews that referred to non-verifiable cell lines without experimental results were mostly affiliated with universities.
“In contrast, papers such as literature reviews that referred to NV cell lines in the absence of experimental results were mostly affiliated with universities (Table 3).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingcitation
Three NV lines-BGC-803, GSE-1 and MGC-823-were reported as obtained from the China Center for Type Culture Collection.
“and 3 NV cell lines (BGC-803, GSE-1, MGC-823) were described as sourced from the China Center for Type Culture Collection (38–41).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 4 sources checked- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingcitation
Among publications treating NV identifiers as independent cell lines, four lines-BGC-803, GSE-1, HGC-803 and MGC-823-were said to come from ATCC.
“In papers where NV identifiers were referred to as independent cell lines, 4 NV cell lines (BGC-803, GSE-1, HGC-803, MGC-823) were described as sourced from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) (43).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [43] American Type Culture Collection: https://www.atcc.org/
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingown data
Manual screening found at least one misidentified nucleotide sequence in more than half (56%) of miR-145 papers published from 2020 to 2022.
“manual screening revealed at least one wrongly identified nucleotide sequence in over half (56%) miR-145 papers published between 2020–2022”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingcitation
Six NV lines-BGC-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803 and MGC-823-were reported as obtained from the Chinese National Infrastructure of Cell Line Resource.
“Six NV cell lines (BGC-803, BSG-823, GSE-1, HGC-7901, HGC-803, MGC-823) were described as sourced from the Chinese National Infrastructure of Cell Line Resource (44)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [44] Pan H, Bian X, Yang S, He Y, Yang X, Liu Y. The cell line ontology-based representation, integration and analysis of cell lines used in China. BMC Bioinf. 2019; 20: 249– 258. PMC6509802 31272367 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingown data
Slightly less than one third of relevant miR-145 papers also reported misidentified cell line(s).
“Just under one third of relevant miR-145 papers also described wrongly identified cell line(s) (Table 1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
We found no publications explaining how those seven NV cell lines were derived.
“Nonetheless, we could not find any papers that described how these 7 NV cell lines were established.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Earliest papers mentioning NV cell line identifiers were published between 1988 and 2020.
“The earliest papers that mentioned NV cell line identifiers were published between 1988–2020”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
The identifiers BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1 and HGC-7901 were first described as independent cell lines in the earliest records.
“The BSG-803, BSG-823, GSE-1 and HGC-7901 identifiers appeared to be first mentioned as independent cell lines”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Five NV cell line identifiers appeared in two miR-145 papers.
“As 5 NV cell line identifiers were found in two miR-145 papers”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingcitation
Studies that reported STR profiles for similarly named contaminated lines did not describe these NV cell lines.
“These NV cell lines were also not described by studies describing STR profiles for similarly named contaminated cell lines (38–41).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 4 sources checked- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Findingnone given
Undergraduate students on short-term publication integrity projects found most of the NV identifiers described here.
“Most NV identifiers described by this study were found by undergraduate students working on short-term publication integrity projects.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Among miR-145 papers that reported nucleotide sequences, manual screening found at least one misidentified sequence in 83%.
“and in 83% miR-145 papers that described nucleotide sequences (Table 1).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
No paper in that subset presented or described STR profiling results for any NV cell line.
“none of these papers either showed or described STR profiling results for any NV cell line (Data file S1).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
First papers referring to NV identifiers as independent cell lines were published between 2004 and 2020.
“whereas the first papers that referred to NV identifiers as independent cell lines were published between 2004–2020”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Eleven of the 16 papers treated three NV identifiers-BGC-803, GSE-1 and/or MGC-823-as independent cell lines.
“Although 11/16 papers referred to 3 NV cell line identifiers (BGC-803, GSE-1 and/or MGC-823) as independent cell lines”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Papers that did not describe experiments with non-verifiable cell lines, including 36 literature reviews, also referred to non-verifiable identifiers as independent cell lines.
“Papers that did not describe experiments with NV cell lines, including 36 literature reviews, also referred to NV identifiers as independent cell lines (Table 3).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Findingown data
Online catalogue searches of those three repositories failed to match the claimed NV identifiers or cell lines.
“Searching the online catalogues of these 3 repositories did not identify the claimed NV identifiers or cell lines (Table S5).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
For BGC-803, HGC-803 and MGC-823, the first description as independent cell lines came 1-17 years after their initial literature mention.
“whereas BGC-803, HGC-803, and MGC-823 were referred to as independent cell lines 1–17 years after they were first mentioned in the literature”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
Only 16 of 420 papers (4%) that mentioned NV cell line identifiers reported using STR profiling to confirm cell line identity.
“A minority (16/420, 4%) of papers that mentioned NV cell line identifiers described the use of STR profiling to confirm cell line identities (Table 2, Data file S1).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Findingown data
An analysis of eight NV cell line identifiers across 420 papers indicated that each of the eight could be a misspelling in at least some publications.
“Studying 8 NV cell line identifiers across 420 papers revealed that all 8 NV identifiers could represent identifier misspellings in at least some publication(s).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
Many studies indicate that experimental reagents can be wrongly identified in publications.
“many studies now indicate that experimental reagents can be wrongly identified in publications”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 10 sources checked- cites [2] Ayoubi R, Ryan J, Biddle MS, Scaling of an antibody validation procedure enables quantification of antibody performance in major research applications. bioRxiv. 2023 (preprint). PMC10666931 37995198 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [3] Rodland KD. As if biomarker discovery isn’t hard enough: the consequences of poorly characterized reagents. Clin Chem. 2014; 60: 290– 291. 24305687 PMC4104817 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [4] Prassas I, Brinc D, Farkona S, False biomarker discovery due to reactivity of a commercial ELISA for CUZD1 with cancer antigen CA125. Clin Chem. 2014; 60: 381– 388. 24097894 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [5] Habbal W, Monem F, Gärtner BC. Errors in published sequences of human cytomegalovirus primers and probes: do we need more quality control? J Clin Microbiol. 2005; 43: 5408– 5409. 16208034 PMC1248504 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [6] Katavetin P, Nangaku M, Fujita T. Wrong primer for rat angiotensinogen mRNA. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2005; 288: F1078. 15821251 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [7] Chiarella P, Carbonari D, Iavicoli S. Utility of checklist to describe experimental methods for investigating molecular biomarkers. Biomarkers Med. 2015; 9: 989– 995. 26439607 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [8] Kocemba KA, Dudzik P, Ostrowska B, Laidler P. Incorrect Analysis of MCAM Gene Promoter Methylation in Prostate Cancer. Prostate. 2016; 76: 1464– 1465. 27418327 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [9] Tamm A. Incorrect primer sequences in the article on methylprednisolone treatment. Acta Neurol Scand. 2016; 134:.90. 27251935 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [10] Byrne JA, Labbé C. Striking similarities between publications from China describing single gene knockdown experiments in human cancer cell lines. Scientometrics. 2017; 110: 1471– 1493. source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [11] Khoshi A, Sirghani A, Ghazisaeedi M, Mahmudabadi AZ, Azimian A. Association between TPO Asn698Thr and Thr725Pro gene polymorphisms and serum anti-TPO levels in Iranian patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Hormones 2017; 16: 75– 83. 28500830
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationown data
Non-verifiable cell lines pose new challenges for research integrity and reproducibility.
“as non-verifiable cell lines represent new challenges to research integrity and reproducibility”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Premisecitation
ELISA kits have been found to contain antibodies that detect targets different from those claimed.
“ELISA kits have been found to include antibodies that detect different targets from those claimed (3, 4).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites [3] Rodland KD. As if biomarker discovery isn’t hard enough: the consequences of poorly characterized reagents. Clin Chem. 2014; 60: 290– 291. 24305687 PMC4104817 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [4] Prassas I, Brinc D, Farkona S, False biomarker discovery due to reactivity of a commercial ELISA for CUZD1 with cancer antigen CA125. Clin Chem. 2014; 60: 381– 388. 24097894 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Independent studies have reported that the identities of some nucleotide sequence reagents do not match their descriptions.
“Independent studies have described examples where the identities of some nucleotide sequence reagents do not match their descriptions (5–17), including oligonucleotide probes on microarrays (18, 19), and shRNAs in libraries (20).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 10 sources checked- cites [5] Habbal W, Monem F, Gärtner BC. Errors in published sequences of human cytomegalovirus primers and probes: do we need more quality control? J Clin Microbiol. 2005; 43: 5408– 5409. 16208034 PMC1248504 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [6] Katavetin P, Nangaku M, Fujita T. Wrong primer for rat angiotensinogen mRNA. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2005; 288: F1078. 15821251 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [7] Chiarella P, Carbonari D, Iavicoli S. Utility of checklist to describe experimental methods for investigating molecular biomarkers. Biomarkers Med. 2015; 9: 989– 995. 26439607 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [8] Kocemba KA, Dudzik P, Ostrowska B, Laidler P. Incorrect Analysis of MCAM Gene Promoter Methylation in Prostate Cancer. Prostate. 2016; 76: 1464– 1465. 27418327 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [9] Tamm A. Incorrect primer sequences in the article on methylprednisolone treatment. Acta Neurol Scand. 2016; 134:.90. 27251935 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [10] Byrne JA, Labbé C. Striking similarities between publications from China describing single gene knockdown experiments in human cancer cell lines. Scientometrics. 2017; 110: 1471– 1493. source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [11] Khoshi A, Sirghani A, Ghazisaeedi M, Mahmudabadi AZ, Azimian A. Association between TPO Asn698Thr and Thr725Pro gene polymorphisms and serum anti-TPO levels in Iranian patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Hormones 2017; 16: 75– 83. 28500830
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [12] Bustin S, Nolan T. Talking the talk, but not walking the walk: RT-qPCR as a paradigm for the lack of reproducibility in molecular research. Eur J Clin Invest. 2017; 47: 756– 774. 28796277 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [13] Labbé C, Grima N, Gautier T, Favier B, Byrne JA. Semi-automated fact-checking of nucleotide sequence reagents in biomedical research publications: the Seek & Blastn tool. PLoS ONE. 2019; 14: e0213266. 30822319 PMC6396917 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [14] Byrne JA, Park Y, West RA, Capes-Davis A, Cabanac G, Labbé C. The thin ret(raction) line: biomedical journal responses to reports of incorrect non-targeting nucleotide sequence reagents in human gene knockdown publications. Scientometrics. 2021; 126: 3513– 3534. source
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Many human cell lines are known to be wrongly identified because of cross-contamination or uncertainty about donor origins.
“Finally, due to cross-contamination and/or uncertainty over donor origins, many human cell lines are known to be wrongly identified (21–25).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 5 sources checked- cites [21] Capes-Davis A, Theodosopoulos G, Atkin I, Check your cultures! A list of cross-contaminated or misidentified cell lines. Int J Cancer. 2010; 127: 1– 8. 20143388 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [22] Freedman LP, Gibson MC, Ethier SP, Soule HR, Neve RM, Reid YA. Reproducibility: changing the policies and culture of cell line authentication. Nat Methods. 2015; 12: 493– 497. 26020501 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [23] Horbach SP, Halffman W. The ghosts of HeLa: How cell line misidentification contaminates the scientific literature. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0186281. 29023500 PMC5638414 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [24] Souren NY, Fusenig NE, Heck S, Cell line authentication: a necessity for reproducible biomedical research. EMBO J. 2022; 41: e111307. 35758134 PMC9289526 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [25] Korch CT, Capes-Davis A. The extensive and expensive impacts of HEp-2 [HeLa], intestine 407 [HeLa], and other false cell lines in journal publications. SLAS Discovery. 2021; 26: 1268– 1279. 34697958 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Reagent identities can be verified by querying nucleotide or amino acid sequences against sequence databases and comparing the predicted and claimed identities.
“Reagent identities can therefore be verified by querying nucleotide or amino acid sequences against DNA/RNA or protein sequence databases, and then comparing predicted and claimed reagent identities (10, 13–15, 17).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 5 sources checked- cites [10] Byrne JA, Labbé C. Striking similarities between publications from China describing single gene knockdown experiments in human cancer cell lines. Scientometrics. 2017; 110: 1471– 1493. source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [13] Labbé C, Grima N, Gautier T, Favier B, Byrne JA. Semi-automated fact-checking of nucleotide sequence reagents in biomedical research publications: the Seek & Blastn tool. PLoS ONE. 2019; 14: e0213266. 30822319 PMC6396917 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [14] Byrne JA, Park Y, West RA, Capes-Davis A, Cabanac G, Labbé C. The thin ret(raction) line: biomedical journal responses to reports of incorrect non-targeting nucleotide sequence reagents in human gene knockdown publications. Scientometrics. 2021; 126: 3513– 3534. source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [15] Park Y, West RA, Pathmendra P, Identification of human gene research articles with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences. Life Sci Alliance. 2022; 5: e202101203. 35022248 PMC8807875 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [17] Pathmendra P, Park Y, Enguita FJ, Byrne JA. Verification of nucleotide sequence reagent identities in original publications in high impact factor cancer research journals. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024, online ahead of print. PMC11166861 38194106
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Screening 163 miR-145 papers with Seek & Blastn identified 31 papers (19%) with one or more wrongly identified nucleotide sequences.
“Screening 163 miR-145 papers with Seek & Blastn identified 31 (19%) miR-145 papers with one or more wrongly identified nucleotide sequences (15).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [15] Park Y, West RA, Pathmendra P, Identification of human gene research articles with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences. Life Sci Alliance. 2022; 5: e202101203. 35022248 PMC8807875 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Wrongly identified reagents can cause failed attempts to reproduce published results.
“These wrongly identified reagents can produce a range of downstream consequences, including failed attempts to reproduce published results (3, 5, 7, 11, 16), and potentially incorrect interpretations of preclinical data leading to misdirected translational research (10, 12, 25).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 5 sources checked- cites [3] Rodland KD. As if biomarker discovery isn’t hard enough: the consequences of poorly characterized reagents. Clin Chem. 2014; 60: 290– 291. 24305687 PMC4104817 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [5] Habbal W, Monem F, Gärtner BC. Errors in published sequences of human cytomegalovirus primers and probes: do we need more quality control? J Clin Microbiol. 2005; 43: 5408– 5409. 16208034 PMC1248504 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [7] Chiarella P, Carbonari D, Iavicoli S. Utility of checklist to describe experimental methods for investigating molecular biomarkers. Biomarkers Med. 2015; 9: 989– 995. 26439607 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [11] Khoshi A, Sirghani A, Ghazisaeedi M, Mahmudabadi AZ, Azimian A. Association between TPO Asn698Thr and Thr725Pro gene polymorphisms and serum anti-TPO levels in Iranian patients with subclinical hypothyroidism. Hormones 2017; 16: 75– 83. 28500830
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- cites [16] Zielske SP, Cackowski FC. Critical analysis of the hypothesized SNHG1/miR-195–5p/YAP1 axis. Func Integr Genomics. 2023; 23: 2. PMC9758073 36526938 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Premisecitation
Like other identifiers without inherent visual meaning, cell line identifiers are easily written incorrectly or misspelled.
“As reported for other identifiers that lack intrinsic visual sense (52), cell line identifiers are prone to being wrongly written or misspelled (22, 26).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked- cites [52] Wren JD. Clinical trial IDs need to be validated prior to publication because hundreds of invalid National Clinical Trial Identifications are regularly entering MEDLINE. Clin Trials. 2017; 14: 109. 27625315 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [22] Freedman LP, Gibson MC, Ethier SP, Soule HR, Neve RM, Reid YA. Reproducibility: changing the policies and culture of cell line authentication. Nat Methods. 2015; 12: 493– 497. 26020501 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationreasoning
Frequent misspelled cell line identifiers in Cellosaurus, together with the many NV identifiers we found, suggest that more NV cell line identifiers are yet to be discovered.
“Repeated references to misspelled cell line identifiers in Cellosaurus (26), combined with the many NV identifiers found in this study, suggest that other NV cell line identifiers remain to be discovered.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationcitation
Because misspelled familiar commercial logos can be accepted as correct, even expert readers may overlook subtle identifier misspellings.
“Furthermore, as misspelled versions of familiar commercial logos can be recognized as if they were correct (46), even expert readers might not notice subtle identifier misspellings.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [46] Rocabado F, Perea M, Duñabeitia JA. Misspelled logotypes: the hidden threat to brand identity. Sci Rep. 2023; 13: 17817. 37857797 PMC10587100 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Study design and conductreasoning
Because of the volume of publications, we did not examine every paper mentioning BGC-803, GSE-1 or MGC-823.
“Due to numbers of available publications, we did not analyze all papers that mentioned the BGC-803, GSE-1 and MGC-823 identifiers.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
Semi-automated screening may undercount gene research papers containing misidentified nucleotide sequences.
“indicating that semi-automated screening could underestimate the numbers of gene research papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences (15).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [15] Park Y, West RA, Pathmendra P, Identification of human gene research articles with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences. Life Sci Alliance. 2022; 5: e202101203. 35022248 PMC8807875 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Study design and conductreasoning
Despite trying to cover all papers mentioning BSG-803, BSG-823, HGC-803, HGC-7901 and TIE-3, we may have missed relevant publications.
“Although we attempted to study all papers that mentioned the identifiers BSG-803, BSG-823, HGC-803, HGC-7901 and TIE-3, we may have still missed some relevant publications.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Study design and conductreasoning
Screening was limited to papers containing some English, so we may have missed papers describing NV cell line establishment or STR profiling results.
“We also recognize that as we only screened papers with at least some English text, we could have failed to identify papers that described how NV cell lines were established, and/or the results of STR profiling.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationcitation
NV identifier descriptions in miR-145 papers with misidentified nucleotide sequences may also signal experiments not carried out as reported.
“Descriptions of NV identifiers in miR-145 publications with wrongly identified nucleotide sequence(s) could also indicate experiments that were not performed as described (15).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [15] Park Y, West RA, Pathmendra P, Identification of human gene research articles with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences. Life Sci Alliance. 2022; 5: e202101203. 35022248 PMC8807875 source
Not checked in the free run.
- Study design and conductreasoning
Our literature searches for NV cell line identifiers took place in 2023, so papers published late that year may have been missed.
“We conducted literature searches for NV cell line identifiers during 2023, and so we may have missed some relevant papers published late in 2023 (Figure 1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationcitation
The higher rate of papers with misidentified nucleotide sequences is probably due to manual screening.
“Higher proportions of papers with wrongly identified nucleotide sequences likely reflects the use of manual screening (17)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [17] Pathmendra P, Park Y, Enguita FJ, Byrne JA. Verification of nucleotide sequence reagent identities in original publications in high impact factor cancer research journals. Naunyn Schmiedebergs Arch Pharmacol. 2024, online ahead of print. PMC11166861 38194106
Not checked in the free run.
- Interpretationreasoning
Because many NV cell line identifiers may be misspellings of cross-contaminated cancer lines, descriptions of the intended cell lines could still be problematic.
“Nonetheless, given that many NV cell line identifiers could represent misspellings of cross-contaminated cancer cell lines (Table S5), descriptions of any intended cell lines could remain problematic.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
Misspelled identifiers may make later descriptions of NV cell lines more likely.
“suggesting that misspelled identifiers may predispose to subsequent NV cell line descriptions (Figure 2).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationown data
Our findings suggest that NV cell line identifiers can acquire new identities as independent lines without published derivation reports, STR profiles, or availability from external suppliers-a process we call "miscelling".
“Our results indicate that NV cell line identifiers can gain new identities as independent cell lines without published descriptions of how cell lines were established, STR profiles, or making cell lines available through external suppliers, a process that we refer to as “miscelling” (Figure 2).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim - Interpretationreasoning
NV cell lines pose problems for research integrity and reproducibility.
“As NV cell lines represent challenges to research integrity and reproducibility, further research is needed to clarify the status and identities of NV cell lines and whether other NV cell lines have been described.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
- May combine two claims. 29
- Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 13
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataIn two miR-145 papers that had wrongly identified nucleotide sequences and cell lines, five cell line identifiers were either recognized misspellings of contaminated cell lines or not indexed by Cellosaurus.
“We also found 5 cell line identifiers in miR-145 papers with misidentified nucleotide sequences and cell lines”
- Also stated in: § Introduction · plain
“we identified 5 cell line identifiers that did not correspond to indexed cell lines”
- Also stated in: § Identification of non-verifiable (NV) cell line identifiers · plain
“Two miR-145 papers that described wrongly identified nucleotide sequence(s) and cell line(s) also described 5 cell line identifier(s) that were either recognized misspellings of contaminated cell lines (26), and/or not indexed by Cellosaurus (Tables S4, S5).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021
Not checked in the free run.
- Also stated in: § Introduction · plain
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe frequencies of non-verifiable identifiers varied; some appeared only once as cell line identifiers, while others appeared in hundreds of Google Scholar sources.
“The frequencies of these NV identifiers varied. Some were found only once as cell line identifiers, whereas others were found in hundreds of Google Scholar sources (Table S5).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
FindingcitationAll wrongly identified cell lines were claimed human cancer cell lines, and most have been found to be contaminated by HeLa and/or other cancer cell lines.
“All wrongly identified cell lines were claimed human cancer cell lines, where most have been found to be contaminated by HeLa and/or other cancer cell lines (38–41) (Table S3).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 4 sources checked- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataThese 21 papers referred to 91 different cell lines, with a median of 5 cell lines per paper and a range of 1 to 13.
“These 21 papers referred to 91 different cell lines, with a median of 5 (range 1–13) cell lines/paper (Table 1), where some cell lines were described in multiple miR-145 papers (Data file S2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe 24 miR-145 papers described 339 nucleotide sequence reagents, and 83 of them (24%) were predicted to be wrongly identified.
“The 24 miR-145 papers described 339 nucleotide sequence reagents, of which almost one quarter (83/339, 24%) were predicted to be wrongly identified (Table 1).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThree non-verifiable identifiers, BGC-803, BSG-823 and GSE-1, were claimed to have been obtained from a cell line repository with an online catalogue, but querying that catalogue did not identify them.
“Furthermore, 3 NV identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-823, GSE-1) were claimed to have been obtained from a cell line repository with an online catalogue (Table S4) yet querying this repository catalogue did not identify these 3 cell line identifiers.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataTwenty-one miR-145 papers described experiments in cell lines, and all of them also described nucleotide sequences.
“A total of 21 miR-145 papers described experiments in cell lines, all of which also described nucleotide sequence(s) (Table S1).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
FindingcitationThe BSG-803, GSE-1 and TIE-3 identifiers were similar to the contaminated cell lines BGC-823/MGC-803, GES-1 and TE-3, respectively.
“whereas the BSG-803, GSE-1 and TIE-3 identifiers were similar to the contaminated cell lines BGC-823/ MGC-803 (38–41), GES-1 (39, 41) and TE-3, respectively (42).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 5 sources checked- cites [38] Ye F, Chen C, Qin J, Liu J, Zheng C. Genetic profiling reveals an alarming rate of cross-contamination among human cell lines used in China. FASEB J. 2015; 29: 4268– 4272. 26116706
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [39] Huang Y, Liu Y, Zheng C, Shen C. Investigation of cross-contamination and misidentification of 278 widely used tumor cell lines. PloS One. 2017; 12: e0170384. 28107433 PMC5249119
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [40] Bian X, Yang Z, Feng H, Sun H, Liu Y. A combination of species identification and STR profiling identifies cross-contaminated cells from 482 human tumor cell lines. Sci Rep. 2017; 7: 9774. 28851942 PMC5575032
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [41] Gu M, Yang M, He J, A silver lining in cell line authentication: Short tandem repeat analysis of 1373 cases in China from 2010 to 2019. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 502– 508. 34469590
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [42] Boonstra JJ, Van Der Velden AW, Beerens EC, Mistaken identity of widely used esophageal adenocarcinoma cell line TE-7. Cancer Res. 2007; 67: 7996– 8001. 17804709
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe earliest publications we located did not explain the derivation of the seven NV cell lines or point to establishment reports.
“No earliest paper that we could find described how the 7 NV cell lines were established or referenced cell line establishment papers.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataOur results show that NV cell lines appear in multiple research fields, reflecting broad use of human cancer cell lines in research.
“Our results also show that NV cell lines are published across different research fields, reflecting the widespread research use of human cancer cell lines.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataAlthough five non-verifiable identifiers were found in miR-145 papers, only 25% (58/235) of papers that described non-verifiable cell lines mentioned miRs in their titles.
“Although 5 NV identifiers were found in miR-145 papers, only 25% (58/235) papers that described NV cell lines referred to miR’s in their titles.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataIn other original papers, non-verifiable and similarly named cell lines were included in lists of cell lines used in experiments, used in the same experiments, or shown together as results for the same experiments in figures or tables.
“In other original papers, NV and similarly named cell lines were (i) included in lists of cell lines employed in experiments (for example: “The human gastric cancer cell lines … MGC-823, MGC-803…were used in this study”), (ii) used in the same experiments according to information provided in the text, and/or (iii) shown together as results for the same experiment(s) in figures and/or tables (Data”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataTwo miR-145 papers with both misidentified nucleotide sequences and misidentified cell lines also contained NV cell line identifiers, some of which were treated as independent lines.
“Unexpectedly, two miR-145 papers that described wrongly identified nucleotide sequence(s) and cell line(s) also included NV cell line identifiers, where some were referred to as independent cell lines.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThe number of original papers that described non-verifiable identifiers as independent cell lines ranged from one paper for BSG-803 to 116 papers for BGC-803, and not all BGC-803 papers were analyzed.
“The numbers of original papers that described NV identifiers as independent cell lines ranged from one paper (BSG-803) to 116 papers (BGC-803), where not all BGC-803 papers were analyzed.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataThose 16 papers either reported STR profiling for named NV lines or made general statements assumed to cover all cell lines.
“These 16 papers either described STR profiling to confirm the identities of named NV cell lines or included overarching statements that were presumed to refer to all cell lines.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataPapers describing non-verifiable identifiers as independent cell lines were published between 2004 and 2023 in fields including cancer research, biochemistry, chemistry and drug discovery, and in journals with impact factors from 0.2 to 16.8.
“Papers describing NV identifiers as independent cell lines were published between 2004–2023 in fields including cancer research, biochemistry, chemistry and drug discovery, and in journals with impact factors ranging from 0.2–16.8 (Tables 2 and 3).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataNo published STR profiles could be located for BGC-803, GSE-1 or MGC-823 cells, even though papers claimed such profiles had been confirmed.
“We also could not identify any published STR profiles for BGC-803, GSE-1 and MGC-823 cells, despite papers stating that these STR profiles had been confirmed.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimMay combine two claims.
Findingown dataAlmost all original papers that described experiments involving non-verifiable cell lines were published by authors in China, and most of those publications were affiliated with hospitals.
“Almost all original papers that described experiments involving NV cell lines were published by authors in China, where most publications were affiliated with hospitals (Table 2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationCellosaurus indexes recognized synonyms for cell line identifiers and, in some cases, potentially misspelled identifiers noted in the literature.
“In addition to matching RRIDs to cell line names (28), Cellosaurus also indexes recognized synonyms for cell line identifiers, and in some cases, potentially misspelled identifiers noted in the literature (26).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationWrongly identified reagents can lead to incorrect interpretations of preclinical data and misdirected translational research.
“and potentially incorrect interpretations of preclinical data leading to misdirected translational research (10, 12, 25).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked- cites [10] Byrne JA, Labbé C. Striking similarities between publications from China describing single gene knockdown experiments in human cancer cell lines. Scientometrics. 2017; 110: 1471– 1493. source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [12] Bustin S, Nolan T. Talking the talk, but not walking the walk: RT-qPCR as a paradigm for the lack of reproducibility in molecular research. Eur J Clin Invest. 2017; 47: 756– 774. 28796277
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [25] Korch CT, Capes-Davis A. The extensive and expensive impacts of HEp-2 [HeLa], intestine 407 [HeLa], and other false cell lines in journal publications. SLAS Discovery. 2021; 26: 1268– 1279. 34697958
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationmiR-145 is not expressed in epithelial cells and would not be expected to act as a critical regulator in many human cancer cell lines.
“miR-145 is not expressed in epithelial cells and would not be expected to serve as a critical regulator in many human cancer cell lines (32, 33).”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked- cites [32] Kent OA, McCall MN, Cornish TC, Halushka MK. Lessons from miR-143/145: the importance of cell-type localization of miRNAs. Nucleic Acids Res. 2014; 42: 7528– 7538. 24875473 PMC4081080
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [33] Chivukula RR, Shi G, Acharya A, An essential mesenchymal function for miR-143/145 in intestinal epithelial regeneration. Cell. 2014; 157: 1104– 1116. 24855947 PMC4175516
Not checked in the free run.
May combine two claims.
PremisecitationCell line identifiers can be used to query knowledgebases such as Cellosaurus to check whether the claimed identity matches the indexed identity and whether the cell line is known or suspected to be cross-contaminated or misclassified.
“These identifiers can be used to query knowledgebases such as Cellosaurus (26) to check whether (i) the claimed identity matches the indexed identity, and (ii) cell lines are known or suspected to be cross-contaminated or otherwise misclassified.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
Interpretationnone givenWhen a cell line's origin and identity are unknown, data generated from it cannot be interpreted or translated.
“However, where cell line origins and identities are unknown, any resulting data cannot be interpreted or translated.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).
InterpretationreasoningExposure to identifier misspellings and NV cell lines might cause some researchers to misspell cell line identifiers in their own work.
“Identifier misspellings and NV cell lines could lead some researchers to misspell cell line identifiers when carrying out their research.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.
Interpretationown dataSince some papers contained multiple NV cell line identifiers, applying literature screening tools in research should speed up discovery of further NV identifiers.
“As we identified multiple NV cell line identifiers in some papers, research application of literature screening tools should also accelerate the discovery of other NV identifiers.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
Interpretationown dataSome NV cell lines seem to emerge without prior misspellings, whereas others are preceded by misspelled cell line identifiers.
“Whereas some NV cell lines appear to arise de novo, others are predated by cell line identifier misspellings (Figure 1)”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningAlthough the claimed NV lines were absent from three online-catalogue repositories including ATCC, stocks of these and other NV lines may exist elsewhere, including repositories without online catalogues.
“While claimed NV cell lines could not be found in 3 external repositories with online catalogues, including ATCC (43), we recognize that stocks of these and other NV cell lines might be held elsewhere, including repositories lacking online catalogues.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [43] American Type Culture Collection: https://www.atcc.org/
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningSome papers using NV identifiers without mentioning similarly named lines may have used the NV identifier as a misspelling, and this could also explain some other descriptions of independent NV cell lines.
“We also recognize that at least some papers that referred to NV identifiers without reference to similarly named cell line(s) could have employed the NV identifier as a misspelling, and that similar explanations could apply to some other descriptions of independent NV cell lines.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.
PremisecitationBecause journal guideline implementation usually does not clearly improve reagent reporting, additional measures will be necessary.
“At the same time, as journal guideline implementation is typically not associated with clear improvements in reagent reporting (51), other actions will be required.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked- cites [51] Hepkema WM, Horbach SPJM, Hoek JM, Halffman W. Misidentified biomedical resources: Journal guidelines are not a quick fix. Int J Cancer. 2022; 150: 1233– 1243. 34807460 PMC9300184
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).
InterpretationcitationMisspelled and other NV cell line identifiers can be hard to spot while reading, especially when identifiers are non-intuitive and can vary in punctuation or syntax.
“Misspelled and other NV cell line identifiers may be difficult to notice through reading, particularly where cell line identifiers are non-intuitive and can be written with different punctation and/or syntax (22, 26–28) (Figure 2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 4 sources checked- cites [22] Freedman LP, Gibson MC, Ethier SP, Soule HR, Neve RM, Reid YA. Reproducibility: changing the policies and culture of cell line authentication. Nat Methods. 2015; 12: 493– 497. 26020501 source
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [26] Bairoch A. The Cellosaurus, a cell-line knowledge resource. J Biomol Tech. 2018; 29: 25– 38. 29805321 PMC5945021
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [27] Kafkas Ş, Sarntivijai S, Hoehndorf R. Usage of cell nomenclature in biomedical literature. BMC Bioinformatics. 2017; 18: 17– 24. 29322912 PMC5763300
Not checked in the free run.
- cites [28] Babic Z, Capes-Davis A, Martone ME, Incidences of problematic cell lines are lower in papers that use RRIDs to identify cell lines. Elife. 2019; 8: e41676. 30693867 PMC6351100 source
Not checked in the free run.
Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenNot all NV identifiers we identified were studied.
“We did not study all NV identifiers that we found (Table S5)”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningEven though sourcing NV cell lines is expected to be difficult, some researchers may try to reproduce results with other lines, wasting time and resources.
“Despite anticipated challenges in sourcing NV cell lines, some researchers might still attempt to reproduce results using other cell lines, leading to wasted time and resources.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductnone givenWe did not try to locate every NV cell line identifier that might exist in the literature.
“and we made no attempt to find all NV cell line identifiers that might exist in the literature.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimMay combine two claims.
InterpretationreasoningIf NV cell lines are unavailable from external repositories, their claimed identities cannot be verified and the published research cannot be reproduced.
“If NV cell lines cannot be sourced from external repositories, their claimed identities cannot be verified and published research cannot be reproduced.”
Quote in the paperSubstantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).
Study design and conductreasoningBecause GSE-1 and TIE-3 are also human gene names, adding search restrictions may have excluded relevant papers.
“For example, as GSE-1 and TIE-3 also represent human genes, our use of additional search terms to restrict results may have excluded relevant papers.”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claimProbably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).
InterpretationreasoningNV cell lines might also originate when paper mills mistake misspelled cell line identifiers for independent lines because of limited time, expertise or attention.
“For example, NV cell lines could also arise through research paper mills confusing misspelled cell line identifiers for independent cell lines, due to lack of time, expertise and attention to detail (Figure 2).”
Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
When scientists mistakenly use misidentified cell lines, experiments can produce unreliable or irreproducible results, leading to increased costs and potentially misguiding future studies.
“When scientists mistakenly use misidentified cell lines, experiments can produce unreliable or irreproducible results, leading to increased costs and potentially misguiding future studies. This not only hinders progress in basic research but also delays the development of clinical applications, negatively affecting patient outcomes and the scientific community as a whole. 7 , 8 , 9”
From Cell line authentication and validation is a key requirement for <i>Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling</i> publications (2025) · cites this paper as [9]
In 2024, non-verifiable cell lines could lead to the creation of new cell lines without published description of how cell lines were established, STR profile, or making cell lines available through external suppliers, a phenomenon known as "miscelling".
“An update in 2024 discussed how non-verifiable cell lines could lead to the creation of new cell lines without published description of how cell lines were established, STR profile, or making cell lines available through external suppliers, a phenomenon known as “miscelling” [20].”
From Genetic Insights into the Economic Toll of Cell Line Misidentification: A Comprehensive Review (2026) · cites this paper as [20]
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
BSG-823 is listed as both indexed and not indexed
MinorThe introduction says Cellosaurus recognizes BSG-823 as a misspelling, then places it among identifiers not indexed by Cellosaurus. The later Results section names BSG-803, rather than BSG-823, in that latter group.
“The remaining identifiers (BSG-823, GSE-1, TIE-3) were not indexed by Cellosaurus”
“Two identifiers (BGC-803, BSG-823) were recognized misspellings of the contaminated human cell lines MGC-803 and BGC-823, respectively (26).”
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“20 25 These wrongly identified reagents can produce a range of downstream consequences, including failed attempts to reproduce published results, 3,5,7,11,16 and potentially incorrect interpretations of preclinical data leading to misdirected translational research.”
New technologies for improved relevance in miRNA research
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Best practices for naming, receiving, and managing cells in culture
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“20 25 These wrongly identified reagents can produce a range of downstream consequences, including failed attempts to reproduce published results, 3,5,7,11,16 and potentially incorrect interpretations of preclinical data leading to misdirected translational research.”
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Flagged first, then by citations
Research works printed but not linked: 1
- Clarivate Analytics Journal Citation Reports.https://jcr.clarivate.com/
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Paper mill challenges: past, present, and future
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Weiskirchen, R., Almeida, J., & Chaqour, B. (2025) · Journal of Cell Communication and Signaling · doi:10.1002/ccs3.70029 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Genetic Insights into the Economic Toll of Cell Line Misidentification: A Comprehensive Review
Weiskirchen, R. (2026) · Medical Sciences · doi:10.3390/medsci14010025 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Byrne, J. A. (2025) · Anesthesia & Analgesia · doi:10.1213/ane.0000000000007854 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Self-citationCorrection to Triterpenoid Saponins from Dianthus versicolor
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(2025) · Journal of Cellular Biochemistry · doi:10.1002/jcb.30700
NOTIFICATION: Hopeanol: A Potent Cytotoxin with A Novel Skeleton from Hopea exalata
(2025) · European Journal of Organic Chemistry · doi:10.1002/ejoc.202500185
(2025) · Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1111/jgh.16919
(2025) · Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology · doi:10.1111/1440-1681.70045
Research integrity, thick and thin
Vincent, M., & Hooper, M. (2025) · Synthese · doi:10.1007/s11229-025-05157-6
Xu, L., Zhu, L., Zheng, K., Liu, J., Tian, P., Hu, D., Wang, Q., Zuo, Q., Ouyang, X., Dai, Y., et al. (2025) · Journal of Materials Chemistry B · doi:10.1039/d5tb90205c
Index of human cells in *Human Cell*, 2025
Kasai, F., & Kataoka, H. (2025) · Human Cell · doi:10.1007/s13577-025-01335-3
- Retracted
Pathmendra, P., Enguita, F. J., & Byrne, J. A. (2026) · RNA · doi:10.1261/rna.081131.126
Self-citation
- Authors
- Oste, D. J., Pathmendra, P., Richardson, R. A. K., Johnson, G., Ao, Y., Arya, M. D., Enochs, N. R., Hussein, M., Kang, J., Lee, A., Danon, J. J., Cabanac, G., Labbé, C., Davis, A. C., Stoeger, T., & Byrne, J. A.
- Affiliations
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- Northwestern University (US)
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Institut polytechnique de Grenoble (FR)
- CellBank Australia Children's Medical Research Institute, The University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia
- Corresponding author
- Byrne, Jennifer A.
- ORCID
- Venue
- International Journal of Cancer
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2024-05-15
- Volume
- 155
- Issue
- 7
- Pages
- 1278-1289
- ISSN
- 0020-7136 (ISSN-L)
- 1097-0215
- PMC
- PMC11296894
- OpenAlex
- W4396972088
- Semantic Scholar
- c095fd218d207acc9881e6b3b5baa93f94c48d76
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 53
- Citations by year
- 2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 2
- FWCI
- 6.75
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Update notices
- correction (2025-01-09)
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- International Journal of Cancer (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) (acceptedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion, public-domain)
- HAL (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Funders
- University of Sydney
- Northwestern University
- National Health and Medical Research Council (APP1184263)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Research Data Management Practices
- Social Sciences › Safety Research › Academic integrity and plagiarism
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Information Systems and Management › Academic Publishing and Open Access
- Keywords
- cell line misidentification, miR-145, research reproducibility, research integrity, short tandem repeat profiling, cancer cell lines
- MeSH terms
- Humans, Neoplasms, Publications, MicroRNAs, Biomedical Research, Cell Line, Tumor
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-07.
Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-07.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
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