title: Origin of the U87MG glioma cell line: Good news and bad news.
abstract: Human tumor-derived cell lines are indispensable tools for basic and translational oncology. They have an infinite life span and are easy to handle and scalable, and results can be obtained with high reproducibility. However, a tumor-derived cell line may not be authentic to the tumor of origin. Two major questions emerge: Have the identity of the donor and the actual tumor origin of the cell line been accurately determined? To what extent does the cell line reflect the phenotype of the tumor type of origin? The importance of these questions is greatest in translational research. We have examined these questions using genetic profiling and transcriptome analysis in human glioma cell lines. We find that the DNA profile of the widely used glioma cell line U87MG is different from that of the original cells and that it is likely to be a bona fide human glioblastoma cell line of unknown origin.
authors: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Marie
authors: M
authors: Allen
authors: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Department of Laboratory Medicine, Karolinska Institute, SE-141 86 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors: Mia
authors: M
authors: Bjerke
authors: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. Department of Organismal Biology, Uppsala University, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Hanna
authors: H
authors: Edlund
authors: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden.
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Nelander
authors: Department of Immunology, Genetics and Pathology, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, SE-751 85 Uppsala, Sweden. bengt.westermark@igp.uu.se.
authors: Bengt
authors: B
authors: Westermark
mesh_terms: D001932:Brain Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000592:standards; D045744:Cell Line, Tumor / Q000378:metabolism*; D016172:DNA Fingerprinting; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D005909:Glioblastoma / Q000235:genetics; D005910:Glioma / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats; D057170:Translational Research, Biomedical
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial; D004273:DNA, Neoplasm