Characterization and authentication of cancer cell lines: an overview
Abstract
Studies of the same cell lines by different laboratories are common in the literature and often show different results with the same methodology. Use of best cell culture practices is essential to ensure consistent and reproducible results. Assay outcomes are easily influenced by many factors including changes in functionality, morphology, doubling time of cells, passage numbers, microbial contamination, and misidentification of cells. Simple observation, monitoring, and documentation of cell morphology and behavior, including growth rates, provide early warning and should be standard practice. Changes may indicate microbial contamination, genotypic drift due to high passage number, or cross-contamination with another cell line. Rapid molecular methods allow the identification of microbial and cross-contamination. Increasingly, authentication of cell lines is a prerequisite for scientific publication to avoid erroneous results entering the literature.
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SNP surveys detect contamination at or above 3%, and the cytochrome c oxidase I gene reveals contamination at or above 1%.
“Alternatives surveying single nucleotide polymorphisms (”
From The history, landscape, and outlook of human cell line authentication and security (2024) · cites this paper as [101]
Cites
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Cross-contamination of cells in culture
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Match criteria for human cell line authentication: Where do we draw the line?
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Self-citationReproducibility: changing the policies and culture of cell line authentication
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Self-citationMouse cell line authentication
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The history, landscape, and outlook of human cell line authentication and security
Harbut, E., Makris, Y., Pertsemlidis, A., & Bleris, L. (2024) · SLAS Discovery · doi:10.1016/j.slasd.2024.100194 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
- Authors
- Reid, Y. A.
- Affiliations
- American Type Culture Collection (US)
- Corresponding author
- Reid, Yvonne A.
- Venue
- Methods in Molecular Biology
- Publisher
- Humana Press
- Published
- 2011
- Volume
- 731
- Pages
- 35-43
- ISSN
- 1064-3745 (ISSN-L)
- 1940-6029
- OpenAlex
- W2417035580
- Cited by
- 34
- References
- 6
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2017: 5 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 6.23
- Type
- book chapter
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Methods in molecular biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects
- Life Sciences › Immunology and Microbiology › Microbiology › Microbial infections and disease research
- Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Identification and Quantification in Food
- Keywords
- cancer cell lines, cell line authentication, cell line misidentification, cross-contamination, microbial contamination, molecular authentication, reproducibility
- MeSH terms
- Animals, Humans, Microbiology, Quality Control, Cell Line, Tumor, Cell Proliferation
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