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Research Resource: STR DNA profile and gene expression comparisons of human BG-1 cells and a BG-1/MCF-7 clonal
Yin Li1, Yukitomo Arao, Julie M Hall
1Laboratory of Reproductive and Developmental Toxicology (Y.L., Y.A., K.S.K.) and Molecular Genomics Core Facility (L.L., K.G.), National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709; College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (J.M.H.), Campbell University, Buies Creek, North Carolina 27506; Center for Cancer Research (S.B.), National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Frederick, Maryland 21702; and Institut de Recherche en Cancérologie de Montpellier (V.C.), Institut de Recherche en Cancerologie de Montpellier and INSERM Unité 896, Universite Montpellier1, F-34298 Montpellier, France.
Abstract:
Human ovarian cancer BG-1 cells are a valuable in vitro model that has enabled several laboratories to study the estrogenic responses of ovarian cancers. We recently discovered that there are two different BG-1 cell lines being used for experiments, denoted here as BG-1 FR and BG-1 NIEHS, which exhibit striking morphological differences. The objective of this study was to methodically analyze these two BG-1 variants and compare their characteristics. Short tandem repeat analysis revealed that the DNA profile of BG-1 FR cells was unique, yet the Short tandem repeat pattern of BG-1 NIEHS was identical with that of MCF-7 cells. From a cytogenetic analysis, it became apparent that the BG-1 FR line had the same profile as previously reported, whereas the BG-1 NIEHS and MCF-7 cells share a similar genetic display. A significant number of unique chromosomal translocations were observed between the BG-1 NIEHS and MCF-7 cells, suggesting that acquired genotypic differences resulted in the formation of two lines from a common origin. Although all cell types demonstrated a similar estrogen responsiveness in reporter gene assays, a microarray analysis revealed distinct estrogen-responsive gene expression patterns with surprisingly moderate to low overlap. We conclude that BG-1 FR is the original ovarian cancer cell line, whereas the BG-1 NIEHS is a variant from the MCF-7 cells. These findings provide much needed clarification of the identities and characteristics of key cell line models that are widely used to study estrogen action in female reproductive cancers.
