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. 2014 Aug;21(8):1015-1019.
doi: 10.1177/1933719114522518. Epub 2014 Feb 11.

Discovery of HeLa Cell Contamination in HES Cells: Call for Cell Line Authentication in Reproductive Biology Research

Douglas A Kniss  1 , Taryn L Summerfield  2
Affiliations

Discovery of HeLa Cell Contamination in HES Cells: Call for Cell Line Authentication in Reproductive Biology Research

Douglas A Kniss et al. Reprod Sci. 2014 Aug.

Abstract

Continuous cell lines are used frequently in reproductive biology research to study problems in early pregnancy events and parturition. It has been recognized for 50 years that many mammalian cell lines contain inter- or intraspecies contaminations with other cells. However, most investigators do not routinely test their culture systems for cross-contamination. The most frequent contributor to cross-contamination of cell lines is the HeLa cell isolated from an aggressive cervical adenocarcinoma. We report on the discovery of HeLa cell contamination of the human endometrial epithelial cell line HES isolated in our laboratory. Short tandem repeat analysis of 9 unique genetic loci demonstrated molecular identity between HES and HeLa cells. In addition, we verified that WISH cells, isolated originally from human amnion epithelium, were also contaminated with HeLa cells. Inasmuch as our laboratory did not culture HeLa cells at the time of HES cell derivations, the source of contamination was the WISH cell line. These data highlight the need for continued diligence in authenticating cell lines used in reproductive biology research.

Keywords: HES cell; HeLa; cell lines; intraspecies cross-contamination.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Fluorescence staining of HES, HeLa and WISH cells for cytokeratin-8, (red) cytoskeletal actin (green), and nuclei (blue).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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