Abstract
The use of cell lines in research can be affected by cell line misidentification. Short tandem repeat (STR) analysis is an effective method, and the gold standard, for the identification of the genetic origin of a cell line, but methods that allow the discrimination between cell lines of the same genetic origin are lacking. Here, we use intact cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry analysis, routinely used for the identification of bacteria in clinical diagnostic procedures, for the authentication of a set of cell lines consisting of three parental neuroblastoma cell lines (IMR-5, IMR-32 and UKF-NB-3) and eleven drug-adapted sublines. Principal component analysis (PCA) of intact-cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry data revealed clear differences between most, but not all, of the investigated cell lines. Mass spectrometry whole-cell fingerprints enabled the separation of IMR-32 and its clonal subline IMR-5. Sublines that had been adapted to closely related drugs, for example, the cisplatin- and oxaliplatin-resistant UKF-NB-3 sublines and the vincristine- and vinblastine-adapted IMR-5 sublines, also displayed clearly distinctive patterns. In conclusion, intact whole-cell MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry has the potential to be further developed into an authentication method for mammalian cells of a common genetic origin.
Highlights
Cell line misidentification has been a major issue since the first mammalian cell lines were established [1,2]
The cell lines were further authenticated using an extended set of Short tandem repeat (STR) markers, which is beyond the requirement of the standard of eight STR markers for unique identification [12] and has a matching probability of 1 in 2 × 1017 in Caucasian- and Hispanic-American populations
While STR analysis has been established as an effective method for the identification of the genetic origin of a cell line [2,9,10,12,13], established methods for the discrimination of cell lines of a common genetic origin are lacking
Summary
Cell line misidentification has been a major issue since the first mammalian cell lines were established [1,2]. HeLa, the first human cancer cell line, was established in 1951 [3], and the first. HeLa cell contamination of cell lines from nonhuman species was described in the early 1960s [4,5]. In 1966, 18 cell lines, reported to be derived from different origins, were shown to be HeLa cells [6]. 16% [7] and 18% [8] of all cell lines submitted to cell culture depositories were reported to be misidentified. Short tandem repeat (STR) loci are highly informative polymorphic markers in the human genome.
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