Keeping it clean: the cell culture quality control experience at the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences

Quality control monitoring of cell lines utilized in biomedical research is of critical importance, and is critical for reproducibility of data. Two key pitfalls in tissue culture are 1) cell line authenticity, and 2) mycoplasma contamination. As a collaborative research institute, the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences receives cell lines from a range of commercial and academic sources, that are adapted for high-throughput screening. Here, we describe the implementation of a routine NCATS-wide mycoplasma testing and short-tandem repeat (STR) testing for cell lines. Initial testing identified a >10% mycoplasma contamination rate, but the implementation of clearly defined protocols that included immediate destruction of contaminated cell lines wherever possible has led to a much-reduced mycoplasma contamination rate, and data for >2,000 cell line samples tested over 3 years, and case studies are provided. STR testing of 170 cell lines with established STR profiles revealed only 5 mis-identified cell lines received from external labs. The data collected over the three years since implementation of this systematic testing demonstrates the importance of continual vigilance in ensuring reproducible data in translational science research.