ArticleScientific reports2016
Genetic variability in a frozen batch of MCF-7 cells invisible in routine authentication affecting cell function.
Article in Scientific reports, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 51 papers.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed, 107 citations in OpenAlex.
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- Integration of hyperspectral imaging and transcriptomics from individual cells with SpectralSeq.Genome research · 2025Article
- Extended passaging of the SKOV3 ovarian cancer cell line leads to two phenotypically different strains.Disease models & mechanisms · 2025Article
- The Adaptation of MCF-7 Breast Cancer Spheroids to the Chemotherapeutic Doxorubicin: The Dynamic Role of Phase I Drug Metabolizing Enzymes.Metabolites · 2025Article
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- Obesity III: Obesogen assays: Limitations, strengths, and new directions.Biochemical pharmacology · 2022Review
- Integration of Epigenetic Mechanisms into Non-Genotoxic Carcinogenicity Hazard Assessment: Focus on DNA Methylation and Histone Modifications.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Reproducibility of adipogenic responses to metabolism disrupting chemicals in the 3T3-L1 pre-adipocyte model system: An interlaboratory study.Toxicology · 2021Article
- A humanized orthotopic tumor microenvironment alters the bone metastatic tropism of prostate cancer cells.Communications biology · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
15 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Common recommendations for cell line authentication, annotation and quality control fall short addressing genetic heterogeneity. Within the Human Toxome Project, we demonstrate that there can be marked cellular and phenotypic heterogeneity in a single batch of the human breast adenocarcinoma cell line MCF-7 obtained directly from a cell bank that are invisible with the usual cell authentication by short tandem repeat (STR) markers. STR profiling just fulfills the purpose of authentication testing, which is to detect significant cross-contamination and cell line misidentification. Heterogeneity needs to be examined using additional methods. This heterogeneity can have serious consequences for reproducibility of experiments as shown by morphology, estrogenic growth dose-response, whole genome gene expression and untargeted mass-spectroscopy metabolomics for MCF-7 cells. Using Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH), differences were traced back to genetic heterogeneity already in the cells from the original frozen vials from the same ATCC lot, however, STR markers did not differ from ATCC reference for any sample. These findings underscore the need for additional quality assurance in Good Cell Culture Practice and cell characterization, especially using other methods such as CGH to reveal possible genomic heterogeneity and genetic drifts within cell lines.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.