Guidelines for the use of cell lines in biomedical research.

Cell-line misidentification and contamination with microorganisms, such as mycoplasma, together with instability, both genetic and phenotypic, are among the problems that continue to affect cell culture. Many of these problems are avoidable with the necessary foresight, and these Guidelines have been prepared to provide those new to the field and others engaged in teaching and instruction with the information necessary to increase their awareness of the problems and to enable them to deal with them effectively. The Guidelines cover areas such as development, acquisition, authentication, cryopreservation, transfer of cell lines between laboratories, microbial contamination, characterisation, instability and misidentification.

Check your cultures! A list of cross-contaminated or misidentified cell lines.

Continuous cell lines consist of cultured cells derived from a specific donor and tissue of origin that have acquired the ability to proliferate indefinitely. These cell lines are well-recognized models for the study of health and disease, particularly for cancer. However, there are cautions to be aware of when using continuous cell lines, including the possibility of contamination, in which a foreign cell line or microorganism is introduced without the handler's knowledge.

Cell line provenance.

Cultured cell lines have become an extremely valuable resource, both in academic research and in industrial biotechnology. However, their value is frequently compromised by misidentification and undetected microbial contamination. As detailed elsewhere in this volume, the technology, both simple and sophisticated, is available to remedy the problems of misidentification and contamination, given the will to apply it.