Authentication of human cell-based products: the role of a new consensus standard

Authentication of human tissues, cell lines and primary cell cultures (including stem cell preparations) used as therapeutic modalities is often performed using phenotyping and technologies capable of assessing identity to the species level (e.g., isoenzyme analysis and/or karyotyping). This authentication paradigm alone cannot provide assurance that the correct human cell preparation is administered, so careful labeling and tracking of cells from the donor, during manufacture and as part of the final product are also employed. Precise, accurate identification of human cells to the individual donor level could, however, significantly reduce the risks of exposing human subjects to misidentified cells. The availability of a standardized method for achieving this will provide a way to improve the safety profile of human cell-based products by providing assurance that a given lot of cells originated from the intended donor and were not inadvertently mixed or replaced with cells from other donors. In support of this goal, an international team of scientists has prepared a consensus standard on authentication of human cells using short tandem repeat profiling. Associated with the standard itself will be the establishment and maintenance of a public database of short tandem repeat profiles for commonly used cell lines.