Molecular cytogenetic characterization of the human cerebral microvessel endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3.
The immortalized human cerebral microvessel endothelial cell line hCMEC/D3 has been repeatedly used as a model of human blood-brain barrier (BBB). hCMEC/D3 cells between passage 25 and 35 are most often applied in research, remained phenotypically nontransformed, and cells maintained many characteristics of human brain endothelial cells. Also hCMEC/D3 was thought to have conserved a normal diploid karyotype over all these passages. Here we characterized the cell line using high-resolution multicolor fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) approaches and revealed a complex karyotype in the 30th passage. Clonal cryptic unbalanced structural rearrangements and numerical aberrations were discovered and described as follows: 45 approximately 48,XX, -X,del(5)(q11)[2],del(9)(q11)[3],+9[3],del(11)(q13 approximately 14)[2], der(14)t(14;21)(q32.33;q22.3)[28],der(15)t(9;15)(p11;p11)[13], dup(15)(p11q11)[5],der(21)t(17;21)(p12;q22)[9],-22[6][cp28]. In summary, a complex karyotype with clonal unbalanced chromosomal rearrangements is present in hCMEC/D3. Thus, we solicit to include molecular cytogenetics in the testing of all cell lines prior to application of their use in complex studies.
Jena University Hospital, Institute of Human Genetics and Anthropology, Jena, Germany.
H
H
Mkrtchyan
S
S
Scheler
I
I
Klein
A
A
Fahr
P O
PO
Couraud
I A
IA
Romero
B
B
Weksler
T
T
Liehr
D001921:Brain / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000166:cytology*; D002460:Cell Line; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D006801:Humans; D007621:Karyotyping; D055806:Microvessels / Q000166:cytology*