Short tandem repeat profiling provides an international reference standard for human cell lines
- John R. Mastersa,b,
- Jim A. Thomsonc,
- Bernadette Daly-Burnsa,
- Yvonne A. Reidd,
- Wilhelm G. Dirkse,
- Phil Packerf,
- Lorraine H. Tojig,
- Tadao Ohnoh,
- Hideyuki Tanabei,
- Colin F. Arlettj,
- Lloyd R. Kellandk,
- Maureen Harrisonl,
- Arvind Virmanim,
- Timothy H. Wardn,
- Karen L. Ayreso, and
- Paul G. Debenhamc
- aInstitute of Urology, University College London, 3rd Floor Research Laboratories, 67 Riding House Street, London W1W 7EY, United Kingdom; cLGC, Queens Road, Teddington, Middlesex TW11 0LY, United Kingdom; dAmerican Type Culture Collection, 10801 University Boulevard, Manassas, VA 20110-2209; eDSMZ German Collection of Cell Cultures, Mascheroder Weg 1b, 38124 Braunschweig, Germany; fEuropean Collection of Animal Cell Cultures, Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research, Salisbury, Wiltshire SP4 0JG, United Kingdom; gCoriell Institute for Medical Research, 401 Haddon Avenue, Camden, NJ 08103; hThe Institute of Physical and Chemical Research (Japan) (RIKEN) Cell Bank, Koyadai 3-1-1, Tsukuba Science City, 305-0074, Japan; iJapanese Collection of Research Bioresources Cell Bank, National Institute of Health Sciences, 1-18-1 Kami-Yoga, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 158-8501, Japan; jMRC Cell Mutation Unit, University of Sussex, Falmer, Brighton BN1 9RR, United Kingdom; kCRC Center for Cancer Therapeutics, Institute of Cancer Research, 15 Cotswold Road, Sutton, Surrey SM2 5NG, United Kingdom; lImperial Cancer Research Fund, P.O. Box 123, Lincoln's Inn Fields, London WC2A 3PX, United Kingdom; mHamon Center for Therapeutic Oncology Research, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 6000 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75235-8593; nDepartment of Drug Development, Paterson Institute for Cancer Research, Wilmslow Road, Manchester M20 4BX, United Kingdom; and oDepartment of Applied Statistics, University of Reading, P.O. Box 240, Earley Gate, Reading RG6 6FN, United Kingdom
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Edited by Stanley M. Gartler, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, and approved April 16, 2001 (received for review December 22, 2000)
Abstract
Cross-contamination between cell lines is a longstanding and frequent cause of scientific misrepresentation. Estimates from national testing services indicate that up to 36% of cell lines are of a different origin or species to that claimed. To test a standard method of cell line authentication, 253 human cell lines from banks and research institutes worldwide were analyzed by short tandem repeat profiling. The short tandem repeat profile is a simple numerical code that is reproducible between laboratories, is inexpensive, and can provide an international reference standard for every cell line. If DNA profiling of cell lines is accepted and demanded internationally, scientific misrepresentation because of cross-contamination can be largely eliminated.
Footnotes
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↵ b To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: J.Masters{at}Ucl.ac.uk.
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This paper was submitted directly (Track II) to the PNAS office.
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See commentary on page 7656.
- Abbreviations:
- STR,
- short tandem repeat;
- vWF,
- von Willebrand factor;
- FGA,
- α fibrinogen
- Copyright © 2001, The National Academy of Sciences
