Glioma was replaced
In medical research, cell lines created many years ago are widely used. However, according to the results obtained by Swedish researchers from Uppsala University, such cells may not be what they are considered to be. Using genetic analysis, they demonstrated that the cell line created at Uppsala University almost 50 years ago has nothing in common with the patient from whose cells it was grown according to official data.
Many cell lines are isolated from malignant tumor cells. Unlike other cultured cells, tumor cells have the ability to divide indefinitely, which allows cell lines to be cultivated for many years. It is easy to work with such cells, and the results obtained during their study are highly reproducible. This makes such cell lines indispensable for medical research, which uses a large number of cell lines originating from various types of tumors.
Researchers studying brain tumors – gliomas – often use the U87MG cell line, which was created at Uppsala University almost 50 years ago. It can currently be ordered for research purposes from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). Working under the guidance of Professor Bengt Westermark, the staff of the Faculty of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology of Uppsala University, on the basis of which the U87MG line was created at one time, often used it in their research, but the results they obtained caused them to doubt the authenticity of the cells provided by ATCC.
Using the method of genomic fingerprinting (DNA genotyposcopy) used in criminology for identification, they compared the DHA of U87MG cells stored at the university itself and in the ATCC repository with the DNA of cells of thin slices of the original tumor deposited on slides and preserved in the 1960s simultaneously with the creation of the cell line.
The comparison showed that the cells of the line maintained at Uppsala University are genetically identical to the cells of the original tumor, while the cells of the U87MG line from ATCC differ from them and have an unknown origin. The authors note that they do not know at what stage the substitution occurred over the past 50 years, but they were able to establish that the cells of the U87MG line provided by ATCC are also likely to be derived from human glioma.
Many scientific journals require researchers who publish the results of experiments on cell lines to provide genetic confirmation of the origin of the cells used. However, the data obtained by the authors also indicate the need to confirm the identity of the cells with the original tumor.
Article by Allen M et al. The origin of the U87MG glioma cell line: Good news and bad news is published in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Evgeniya Ryabtseva
Portal "Eternal youth" http://vechnayamolodost.ru
based on Uppsala University: Forensic DNA analysis checks the origin of cultured cells.
06.09.2016