Identity: Cell line authentication

Ensure consistent cell line identity throughout your culture

The risks of cross-contamination in the laboratory are high. Mislabeling can happen too. In fact, The International Cell Line Authentication Committee (ICLAC) estimates that as much as 1/5 to 1/3 of known cell lines are wrongly identified to date (2021 data).

There is no obvious visual evidence that will flag this issue up to you without testing for identity. Most of the time, scientists are misled because their cell line behaves the way they would expect. Still, this does not mean that the cell line identity has not changed during the culture process.

This will cause serious issues down the line, compromising the robustness of published results and the credibility of the field overall. It is also ethically fundamental to ensure the consented agreement from the initial donor of the line on which you are basing your research work.

Fortunately, awareness of this issue is rising in the field of stem cell research. An increasing number of journals are now asking for the test to be performed before publishing papers. It also helps in preparing the ground for future clinical trials that will require stringent quality controls from the proof of concept to the actual production material. Finally, a proper cell line authentication using STR will also help you meet the requirements for grants and funding applications.

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The latest ISSCR guidelines published in June 2023 (Standards for Human Stem Cell Use in Research), encourage the use of STR tests at regular intervals on your production workflow.

The ISSCR encourages checking your cell line identity at the initial characterization of the Master Cell Bank, at significant bottleneck (for eg. after gene editing) and at the end of the study.

In addition, Stem Genomics recommends testing at the acquisition of a new cell line (unless an authentication certificate is provided). Regular in-routine controls during amplification are also good practice to minimize risks of cross-contamination and mislabelling.

Click on the graphs below for more details

Guidelines for human Pluripotent Stem cell workflow

The workflow for PSC genetic integrity quality control recommended by Stem Genomics

Guidelines for human Mesenchymal Stromal cell workflow

STR-solution by Stem Genomics: your results in 3 days

Get your cell lines properly authenticated with the STR-solution from Stem Genomics. Simply send your sample* in the post and you will get fast results within 3 business days.

*analysis available from 1 sample

STR by Stem Genomics specifications at a glance

Cell types

Any human cell type

Samples

gDNA

Cells in dry pellet form

Shipment

Room temperature

Frozen cell pellets sent on dry ice

Detection

5-Dye

16-Locus analysis

Time

3 days after sample reception

Available as a service only
from one sample:

For research use only. Available for European customers only

Save time and money with our one-stop shop solution

While we are verifying your cell line identity, why not also check for potential genomic abnormalities at the same time? We have fast and high-performing digital PCR tests that will enable you to perform these tests simultaneously from the same sample.

Need help?

Our experts specialized in stem cell characterization are here to help and recommend the procedure best adapted to your specific workflow.