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Cited by 109Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalitiesCancer Genomics and DiagnosticsMicrotubule and mitosis dynamics

High variability of genomic instability and gene expression profiling in different HeLa clones

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Frattini, Annalisa, Fabbri, Marco, Valli, Roberto, De Paoli, Elena, Montalbano, Giuseppe, Gribaldo, Laura, Pasquali, Francesco, Maserati, Emanuela·2015·Scientific Reports
DOI 10.1038/srep15377PMC PMC4613361
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Abstract

The HeLa cell line is one of the most popular cell lines in biomedical research, despite its well-known chromosomal instability. We compared the genomic and transcriptomic profiles of 4 different HeLa batches and showed that the gain and loss of genomic material varies widely between batches, drastically affecting basal gene expression. Moreover, different pathways were activated in response to a hypoxic stimulus. Our study emphasizes the large genomic and transcriptomic variability among different batches, to the point that the same experiment performed with different batches can lead to distinct conclusions and irreproducible results. The HeLa cell line is thought to be a unique cell line but it is clear that substantial differences between the primary tumour and the human genome exist and that an indeterminate number of HeLa cell lines may exist, each with a unique genomic profile.

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  • Systematic investigations revealed significant genetic differences in widely applied cell models between different laboratories.

    “Systematic investigations revealed significant genetic differences in widely applied cell models between different laboratories (Frattini et al., 2015; Kleensang et al., 2016; Gutbier et al., 2018).”

    From In Vitro research Reproducibility: Keeping up High Standards (2019) · cites this paper as Frattini et al., 2015

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Authors
Frattini, A., Fabbri, M., Valli, R., De Paoli, E., Montalbano, G., Gribaldo, L., Pasquali, F., & Maserati, E.
Affiliations
  • University of Insubria (IT)
  • European Commission (BE)
Corresponding author
Frattini, Annalisa
ORCID
Venue
Scientific Reports
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2015-10-20
Volume
5
Issue
1
Pages
15377-15377
ISSN
2045-2322 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1038/srep15377
PMC
PMC4613361
OpenAlex
W2413403124
Cited by
109
References
2
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 6 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 11 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 11 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 2
FWCI
5.17
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Scientific Reports (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • IrInSubria (University of Insubria) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • Joint Research Centre (European Commission) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Università degli Studi dell'Insubria
  • Regione Lombardia
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genomic variations and chromosomal abnormalities
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cancer Research › Cancer Genomics and Diagnostics
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Cell Biology › Microtubule and mitosis dynamics
Keywords
HeLa cells, genomic instability, chromosomal instability, cell line heterogeneity, batch-to-batch variation, gene expression profiling, hypoxia response, cancer cell lines
MeSH terms
Hypoxia, Genetic Markers, HeLa Cells, Humans, Reproducibility of Results, Genome, Human, Gene Expression Regulation, Neoplastic, In Situ Hybridization, Fluorescence, Genetic Heterogeneity, Gene Expression Profiling, Genomics, Genomic Instability, Comparative Genomic Hybridization, DNA Copy Number Variations, Transcriptome, Karyotype

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