title: Species identification and confirmation of human and animal cell lines: a PCR-based method.
abstract: Misidentification and cross-contamination of cell lines are major problems of cell cultures that can make scientific results and their reproducibility unreliable. This paper describes a PCR-based method for easily identifying or confirming the species of origin of cell lines by using a panel of oligonucleotides specific for the nine animal species most common in cell culture laboratories. A panel of 35 human and animal cell lines, whose species of origin were previously confirmed by isoenzyme assay, was studied with nine species-specific primer pairs that specifically anneal to DNA sequences codifying for human, cat, dog, mouse, rat, horse, rabbit, African Green monkey cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (cox I), and one primer pair specific for the cytochrome b gene of Chinese hamster. The amplified fragments were analyzed by electrophoresis in ethidium bromide-stained 2% agarose gels. The method is simple, rapid, highly sensitive, and useful for routinely monitoring the species identity of cell cultures.
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Cancer Research, Genoa, Italy. iclc@isge.it
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Parodi
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Aresu
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Bini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lorenzini
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schena
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Visconti
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cesaro
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ferrera
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Andreotti
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ruzzon
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D002460:Cell Line; D002522:Chlorocebus aethiops; D006224:Cricetinae; D003412:Cricetulus; D004285:Dogs; D006736:Horses; D006801:Humans; D007527:Isoenzymes / Q000235:genetics; D051379:Mice; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D011817:Rabbits; D051381:Rats; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D007527:Isoenzymes