Genetic heterogeneity of RPMI-8402, a T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia cell line

Thorough examination of genetic heterogeneity of cell lines is uncommon. In order to address this issue, the present study analyzed the genetic heterogeneity of RPMI-8402, a T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) cell line. For this purpose, traditional techniques such as fluorescence in situ hybridization and immunocytochemistry were used, in addition to more advanced techniques, including cell sorting, Sanger sequencing and massive parallel sequencing. The results indicated that the RPMI-8402 cell line consists of several genetically different cell subpopulations. Furthermore, massive parallel sequencing of RPMI-8402 provided insight into the evolution of T-ALL carcinogenesis, since this cell line exhibited the genetic heterogeneity typical of T-ALL. Therefore, the use of cell lines for drug testing in future studies may aid the progress of anticancer drug research.