Authentication of Primary Murine Cell Lines by a Microfluidics-Based Lab-On-Chip System

Area of Science:

• Biotechnology
• Molecular Biology
• Genetics

Background:

• Cell line authentication is crucial for experimental reproducibility.
• Traditional short-tandem repeat (STR) fragment length analysis (FLA) via capillary electrophoresis is often inaccessible and expensive.
• A need exists for simpler, more cost-efficient cell line authentication methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate microfluidic electrophoresis for STR profiling of cell lines.
• To establish a cost-efficient alternative to capillary electrophoresis for cell line authentication.
• To demonstrate the utility of microfluidic STR profiling for quality control and contamination tracking.

Main Methods:

• Utilized microfluidic electrophoresis for STR profiling of murine cell lines.
• Developed immortalized hematopoietic progenitor cell (HPC) lines for proof-of-concept.
• Applied the technique to primary mutant Kras-driven pancreatic cancer cell lines.

Main Results:

• Microfluidic electrophoresis successfully performed STR profiling on various cell lines.
• Clear discrimination and quality control were achieved for both HPC and cancer cell lines.
• The method demonstrated effectiveness in tracking cross-contaminations.

Conclusions:

• Microfluidic electrophoresis provides a simple and cost-efficient alternative for STR-based cell line authentication.
• This technique enables stringent quality control and contamination monitoring.
• It enhances the reliability and reproducibility of experimental research involving cell lines.