Eradication of cross-contaminated cell lines: A call for action

Abstract

This "white paper" was prepared and widely disseminated in an attempt to sound an alarm about the long-term existence of a grave, unresolved and growing problem that affects a significant portion of biomedical research, namely, the use of misidentified and cross-contaminated cell cultures. The "white paper" shows how bold action could bring about a profession-wide change in practice that would prevent further erosion. Misidentification and inter- and intra-specific cross-contamination of mammalian cell cultures used in research continues as a widespread problem despite an awareness that dates back more than 45 years. Awareness of the problem has led to a good understanding of the causes of cross-contamination and appropriate preventive measures. It has also led to the application of robust methods for the authentication of cell lines. Yet the problem continues unabated. Estimates of the incidence of research papers flawed by the use of misidentified and cross-contaminated cell cultures approximate 15-20%. The gravity of the situation calls for a strategy that would deliver a remedial message of authentication to virtually all cell culture researchers and also ensure compliance with the message. At the core of the strategy proposed herein is having cell line authentication as a condition for the award of research grants and for the publication of research findings.

HeLa Nucleic Acid Contamination in The Cancer Genome Atlas Leads to the Misidentification of Human Papillomavirus 18

“…Cross-contamination was even suspected from air droplets (4). Evidence of widespread contamination eventually turned into a controversy that is still unsettled today (5,6). More than 50 years later, HeLa cell contamination is still being uncovered in cell lines (7) and the problem of cell line contamination is not limited to HeLa (8,9).…”

Species identification and authentification of human and rodent cell cultures using polymerase chain reaction analysis of vomeronasal receptor genes

“…While assays based on karyotyping, fluorescent in situ hybridization and isozyme analysis (Nardone 2007) have been developed to distinguish between cell lines from different species their application and interpretation can require significant expertise and costs which can inhibit their uptake. In-house approaches using relatively simple inexpensive PCR technologies are desirable however limitations remain with published approaches which can require complex gel banding pattern interpretation, multiple-primer/ nested assays and/or application of complementary approaches for data confirmation.…”

Requiem pour Henrietta

“…Il finit par démissionner en 1981. Actuellement, malgré quelques tentatives pour vérifier les lignées [11], le contrôle n'est pas fait de façon systématique [12]. En 2008, on estime qu'environ 20 % des lignées utilisées dans les publications ont subi des contaminations croisées et devraient être refusées par les comités de lecture.…”