Why perform STR Profiling?

Authentication testing aims to confirm or verify the identity of a cell line, demonstrating that it is derived from the correct species and donor⁽¹⁾. Cell lines can become misidentified through cross-contamination, mislabelling, or other mechanisms. More than 450 misidentified cell lines exist with no known authentic material^(2-3).

Many journals now require authors to authenticate cell lines before manuscript submission and report on testing in the manuscript text.

Short tandem repeat (STR) profiling is used as a consensus test method to allow laboratories and journals to compare cell line samples^(4-5). STR profiling is a genotype-based method used to determine if a cell line corresponds to other samples from the same donor. Many cell lines do not have other donor samples for comparison. However, STR profile databases can be used to exclude cross-contamination with HeLa and other classic tumour cell lines^(6-7).

STR Profiling at CellBank Australia

CellBank Australia accepts cell pellets and DNA samples for testing.

STR loci are amplified using the PowerPlex® 16HS System (Promega). Data are analysed using GeneMapper™ ID software (ThermoFisher).

Facility staff perform a comprehensive comparison of testing samples to reference material and databases. Testing samples are compared to the facility’s own dataset and to international databases of human cell line STR profiles. CellBank Australia’s internal dataset consists of more than 1,500 STR profiles from nine years of testing cell lines from Australia and New Zealand.

Staff have experience with interpreting data from cell lines with microsatellite instability (MSI), which can be challenging due to increased genetic drift.

Price:     $195 per sample, excluding GST.

Terms and Conditions

Please note that all CellBank Australia services are suitable for research purposes only and are not appropriate for human clinical or diagnostic samples. CellBank Australia can only test cell lines classified as Physical Containment Level 1 (PC1) and Level 2 (PC2). Full terms and conditions can be found in the ‘Attachments’ tab.

Orders

At present, we do not accept orders online for this service. Thus you will not be able to add the service to your cart. However, to place an order offline:

• Contact us using the ‘Ask a Question‘ tab and tell us about any special needs that you may have.

• Download a copy of the ‘Request for Identification Testing’ form, which is available from the ‘Attachments’ tab.

• Complete and return the form via email (cellbank@cmri.org.au.)

• Upon confirmation, prepare your samples and ship them to CellBank Australia in accordance with the instructions on the Request form.

References

1. International Cell Line Authentication Committee (2017) Definitions.

2. Capes-Davis A, Theodosopoulos G, Atkin I, Drexler HG, Kohara A, MacLeod RA, Masters JR, Nakamura Y, Reid YA, Reddel RR, Freshney RI (2010) Check your cultures! A list of cross-contaminated or misidentified cell lines. Int J Cancer 127(1):1-8. PMID: 20143388.

3. International Cell Line Authentication Committee (2016) Database of Cross-contaminated or Misidentified Cell Lines.

4. ANSI/ATCC ASN-0002-2011 “Authentication of Human Cell Lines: Standardization of STR Profiling”.

5. Barallon R, Bauer SR, Butler J, Capes-Davis A, Dirks WG, Elmore E, Furtado M, Kline MC, Kohara A, Los GV, MacLeod RA, Masters JR, Nardone M, Nardone RM, Nims RW, Price PJ, Reid YA, Shewale J, Sykes G, Steuer AF, Storts DR, Thomson J, Taraporewala Z, Alston-Roberts C, Kerrigan L (2010) Recommendation of short tandem repeat profiling for authenticating human cell lines, stem cells, and tissues. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim 46(9):727-32. PMID: 20614197.

6. Dirks WG, Drexler HG (2013) STR DNA typing of human cell lines: detection of intra- and interspecies cross-contamination. Methods Mol Biol. 946:27-38. PMID: 23179824.

7. Yu M, Selvaraj SK, Liang-Chu MM, Aghajani S, Busse M, Yuan J, Lee G, Peale F, Klijn C, Bourgon R, Kaminker JS, Neve RM (2015) A resource for cell line authentication, annotation and quality control. Nature 520(7547):307-11. PMID: 25877200.