DNA fingerprinting with oligonucleotides can differentiate cell lines derived from the same tumor

Oligonucleotide fingerprinting was applied to investigate the relatedness of several cell lines that were established between 1973 and 1977 from a teratocarcinoma. We were able to distinguish cell lines derived at different times. In addition, sublines from one cell line (PYS-2) could be discriminated by using a combination of different probes. Therefore multilocus fingerprinting with oligonucleotides is a useful method for monitoring changes in cell lines kept in culture for many generations.