Neuroblastoma tumor cell line database

In using mammalian cell culture, researchers usually are more concerned about microbial contamination than cross-contamination between different cell lines (both intra- and inter-species). Authentication of cell lines are critical in assuring validity of the experiments and reproducibility of research. It is estimated that more than 20 percent of cell lines in the research community are misidentified or contaminated. Presently, cell line information is mainly provided by collections on private cell line databases. An STR (short tandem repeat) profile international reference standard for human cell lines was proposed by the leading cell banks from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). In the past decades, we have continued to establish neuroblastoma cell lines from fresh tumor samples or bone marrow from patients at the time of diagnosis or at the time of relapse. We are using STR typing methods, to authenticate all our neuroblastoma tumor cell lines in building a cell line database.