list of contaminated cell lines list of contaminated cell lines many cell lines that are widely used for biomedical research have been overgrown by other, more aggressive cells. for example, supposed thyroid lines were actually melanoma cells, supposed prostate tissue was actually bladder cancer, and supposed normal uterine cultures were actually breast cancer. this is a list of cell lines that have been cross-contaminated and overgrown by other cells. estimates based on screening of leukemia-lymphoma cell lines suggest that about 15% of these cell lines are not representative of what they are usually assumed to be. a project is currently underway to enumerate and rename contaminated cell lines to avoid errors in research caused by misattribution. contaminated cell lines have been extensively used in research without knowledge of their true character. for example, most if not all research on the endothelium ecv-304 or the megakaryocyte dami cell lines has in reality been conducted on bladder carcinoma and erythroleukemia cells, respectively. thus, all research on endothelium- or megakaryocyte-specific functions utilizing these cell lines has turned out to be misguided, serving more of a warning example. there are two principal ways a cell line can become contaminated: cell cultures are often exchanged between research groups; if, during handling, a sample gets contaminated and then passed on, subsequent exchanges of cells will lead to the contaminating population being established, although parts of the supposed cell line are still genuine. more serious is contamination at the source: during establishment of the original cell line, some contaminating cells are accidentally introduced into the cultures, where they in time outgrow the desired cells. the initial testing, in this case, still suggested that the cell line is genuine and novel, but in reality, it has disappeared soon after being established and all samples of such cell lines are actually the contaminant cells. it requires lengthy research to determine the precise point where cell lines have become contaminated. a mix-up rated as contamination could in reality be a simple confusion of two cell lines, but usually contamination is assumed. after a cell line has been discovered to be contaminated, they are usually never used again for research demanding the specific type of cell line they are assumed to be. most contaminated cell lines are discarded, however sometimes contaminant cells have acquired novel characteristics (e.g., by mutation or viral transfection, for example the hela derivate det98) and thus constitute a novel lineage after all, so are not thrown away. if a cell line is thought to be contaminated, it is usually tested for authenticity. the widespread contamination of hela cells was initially recognized by walter nelson-rees using simple giemsa stain karyotyping under a light microscope. this technique works well in recognizing hela because these cells have distinctive chromosome aberrations. novel cell lines are proliferated and distributed and/or deposited at a safekeeping institution such as the atcc as soon as possible after establishment, to minimize the odds that the line becomes spoiled by contamination. it is considered good practice to periodically check cell lines maintained under laboratory conditions (i.e., not placed in long-term storage) for contamination with hela or other common contaminants, to ensure that their quality and integrity is maintained. lists of contaminated cell lines this is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources. this list, containing 488 cell lines, was last updated on 1 december 2016. cellosaurus also is maintaining a list of "problematic" cell lines. the list is dynamically generated from all cell lines in the database with a comment containing the dedicated words "problematic cell line". as of 17 january 2017, the list contains 757 entries. if no species is given in the individual entries of the following tables, the table's species applies to both the assumed and the actual cell types. cell lines marked virtual in the table below are known instances of contamination at the source; these cell lines became extinct or never existed. cases where non-contaminated lines are known or strongly suspected to exist are marked existent. contaminated human cell lines supposed cell lineexistent?supposed cell typereal cell linereal cell typereferencecellosaurus 207existentpre-b cell leukemiareh or ccrf-cempre-b cell or t cell leukemiacvcl_k034 2474/90virtualstomach carcinomaht-29colon carcinomacvcl_9556 2563, mac-21lung lymphomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m629, cvcl_m627 2957/90virtualstomach carcinomaht-29colon carcinomacvcl_9557 3051/80virtualstomach carcinomaht-29colon carcinomacvcl_9558 adlc-5m2virtuallung carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8169 ag-fvirtualhodgkin's diseaseccrf-cem variantt cell leukemiacvcl_d101 aovirtualamnionhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d631 arh-77existent?plasma cell leukemiaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoidcvcl_1072 av3virtualamnionhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_1904 bcc1/kmcvirtualbasal cell carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_a033 be-13virtualt cell leukemiapeert cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_1081 bja-bexistentburkitt's lymphomarehpre-b cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_5711 blin-1, -1e8virtualpre-b cell leukemianalm-6pre-b cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8173 bm-1604virtualprostate carcinomadu-145prostate carcinomacvcl_1968 brca 5virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d280 bt-20existentbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_0178 cama (cl 15)virtualbreast carcinomaunknownlaboratory mouse/golden hamster cellscvcl_1t14 caovvirtualovarian carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m091 cavevirtualstomach carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8444 chang liverliverhelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_0238 chbvirtualastrocytomaunknownlaboratory rat glial cells?cvcl_1r45 cmp, cmpii c2virtualintestinal adenocarcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d297 cvcl_l115 co (cole)virtualhodgkin's diseaseccrf-cemt cell leukemiacvcl_j653 colo-818virtualmelanomacolo-800melanomacvcl_1998 d18tvirtualsynovial cellhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8669 damivirtualmegakaryocytichelerythroleukemiamacleod et al. (1997a, b)cvcl_4360 daptvirtualpilocytic astrocytomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d279 detroit 6 (det6)virtualsternal marrowhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_2436 detroit 30a (det30a)virtualcarcinoma asciteshelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8674 detroit 98 (det98), det98/ag,det98/ah-2, det98/ahrvirtualsternal marrowhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8188 ddvirtualmalignant histiocytosisk-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_j651 eb33virtualprostatehelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8344 ecv-304virtualnormal endotheliumt-24bladder carcinomadirks et al. (1999); lacroix (2008)cvcl_2029 ehvirtualhairy cell leukemiahkhairy cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_l804 elcovirtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8686 eplc-32m1virtuallung carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8193 eplc-65hvirtuallung carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8194 esp1virtualsporadic burkitt's lymphomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8351 eu-1virtualpre-b cell leukemiarehpre-b cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8857 eu-7virtualt cell leukemiaccrf-cemt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8865 euevirtualfetal subcutishelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_7262 evlc2virtualtransfected umbilical vein endotheliumunknownnon-endothelial?unger et al. (2002)cvcl_8687 f2-4e5virtualthymus epitheliumsk-hep-1liver carcinomacvcl_a040 f2-5b6virtualthymus epitheliumsk-hep-1liver carcinomacvcl_a041 f255a4virtual ???helacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8688 flvirtualamnionhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_1905 fq, rb, ry, sprvirtualhodgkin's disease spleenomk-210three-striped night monkey kidneycvcl_l984, cvcl_l985,cvcl_u964, cvcl_l986 g-11virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_u962 ghevirtualastrocytomat-24bladder carcinomacvcl_8199 girardi hearthearthelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_2254 gm01312myelomaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_j111 gm01500myelomaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_d870 gref-xvirtualliver myofibroblastunknownlaboratory rat cell linecvcl_7667 haendliver angiosarcomaunknownnon-endothelial?unger et al. (2002)cvcl_8690 hagvirtualadenomatoid goitret-24bladder carcinomacvcl_8223 hbcvirtualinfiltrating ductal carcinomaunknownrat cell linecvcl_m630 hbt3, hbt-e, hbt-39bvirtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d281, cvcl_m746,cvcl_j652 hcevirtualcervical carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m619 hekvirtualembryonic kidneyhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m624 hek/hrvtransfected embryonic kidneyhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m625 hel-r66virtualembryonic lungunknowngrivet cell linecvcl_1r39 hep-2virtuallarynx epidermoid carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomachen (1988); lacroix (2008)cvcl_1906 himeg-1existent?cmlhl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8439 hkb-1virtualhodgkin's diseaseunknownunknowndrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_5290 hmv-1virtualmelanomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8233 hpb-allexistentt cell leukemiajurkatt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_1820 hpb-mltvirtualt cell leukemiahpb-allt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_7959 hptcvirtualpapillary thyroid carcinomaunknowndomestic pig cell linecvcl_8224 hs-445hodgkin's diseaseunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_0761 hs-sultanvirtualmultiple myeloma plasmacytomajijoyeendemic burkitt's lymphomadrexler et al. (2001)cvcl_2516 huk°39virtualkidneyhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8283 hutvirtualfibrosarcoma-derived cell line 8387helacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m861 im-9multiple myelomaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoid; lacroix (2008)cvcl_1305 imc-2virtualmaxillary carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8245 intestine 407 (int 407)virtualintestinal epitheliumhelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_1907 j96virtualleukemic bloodhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_3990 j111virtualmonocytic leukemiahelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_2965 jhcvirtualplacentahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m093 jhtvirtualtransfected placentahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m620 josk-i, -k, -m, -svirtualmonocytic leukemiau-937histiocytic lymphomacvcl_2082, cvcl_81411,cvcl_2083, cvcl_8142 k051existent?myeloblastic leukemiak-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_3000 karpas 45existentt cell leukemiaunknownunknowncvcl_1326 kbvirtualoral carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_0372 kbm-3existentmonocytic leukemiahl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_a425 ke-37existentt cell leukemiaccrf-cemt cell leukemiacvcl_1327 km-3existent?pre-b cell leukemiarehpre-b cell leukemiacvcl_0011 kms-21-bmexistent?myelomaunknownunknowndrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_2991 kpb-m15virtualterminal cmlkyo-1terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_5308 kp-p1virtualprostate carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_d283 l132virtualembryonic lung epitheliumhelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_1908 l-540existenthodgkin's diseaseccrf-cemt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_1362 l-591existent?hodgkin's diseaseunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_1867 led-ticervical carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8438 lr10.6virtualpre-b cell leukemianalm-6pre-b cell leukemiacvcl_8260 luvirtualfetal lunghelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m631 lu 106virtualembryonic lunghelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8892 m10tvirtualsynovial cellhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m094 ma160virtualprostatehelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8261 matuvirtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_5328 mb-02existentmegakaryoblastic leukemiahu-3megakaryoblastic leukemiacvcl_7075 mc-4000virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_5331 mc/carplasma cell leukemiaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoidcvcl_1397 mccoyvirtualsynovial cellstrain llaboratory mouse connective tissuecvcl_3742 mda-mb-435virtualbreast carcinomam14melanomaellison et al. j clin pathol mol pathol 55, 294-9; lacroix (2008)cvcl_0417 mdsvirtualmonocytic leukemiajurkatt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_l807 mhh-225existent?megakaryoblastic leukemiajurkatt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8894 minnesota eevirtualesophageal epitheliumhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8264 mkb-1virtualt cell leukemiaccrf-cemt cell leukemiacvcl_8265 mobs-1virtualmonocytic leukemiau-937histiocytic lymphomacvcl_8442 molt-15virtualt cell leukemiactv-1monocytic leukemiacvcl_8150 mt-1virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_0441 mutz-1virtualt cell leukemianamalwaburkitt's lymphomacvcl_1431 nctc2544, nctc3075virtualskin epitheliumhelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_0461, cvcl_8156 nci-adr-resvirtualbreast cancerovcar-8high grade serous ovarian cancerliscovitch & ravid (2007)cvcl_1452 noi-90virtualnatural killer cell lymphomarehpre-b cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8462 oevirtualendometriumhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_j350 ou-aml-1, -2. -3, -4,-5, -6, -7, -8virtualacute myeloid leukemiaoci/aml2monocytic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8391, cvcl_8392,cvcl_8393, cvcl_8394,cvcl_8395, cvcl_8396,cvcl_8397, cvcl_8398 p1-1a3virtualthymus epitheliumsk-hep-1liver carcinomacvcl_a042 p1-4d6virtualthymus epitheliumsk-hep-1liver carcinomacvcl_a046 p39/tsuganeexistentmyeloblastic leukemiahl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_0478 pbeivirtualpre-b cell leukemianalm-6pre-b cell leukemiacvcl_8270 plb-985virtualmonocytic leukemiahl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_2162 ramak-1virtualmuscle synoviumt-24bladder carcinomacvcl_8271 rbhf-1virtualhepatomaunknownnon-human mammal cell linecvcl_y465 rc-2aexistent?monocytic leukemiaccrf-cemt cell leukemiacvcl_l808 red-3virtualacute myeloid leukemiahl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8907 reh-6virtualpre-b cell leukemiaunknownlaboratory mouse cell linecvcl_l803 rm-10virtualterminal cmlk-562terminal cmlcvcl_8463 rpmi-6666hodgkin's diseaseunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_1665 rpmi-8402existentt cell leukemiaunknownunknown; lacroix (2008)cvcl_1667 rs-1existent?megakaryoblastic leukemiak-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8423 rsphodgkin's diseaseunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_m628 rt4existentbladder carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_0036 sa4virtualliposarcomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8910 sam-1virtualterminal cmlk-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8440 sbc-2virtualbladder carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_1677 sbc-7virtualbladder carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_1680 sclc-16h, -24hvirtualsmall cell lung carcinomasclc-21/22hsmall cell lung carcinomacvcl_x025, cvcl_8262 sh-2virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m622 sh-3virtualbreast carcinomahelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m383 spi-801, -802virtualt cell leukemiak-562terminal cmlcvcl_2200, cvcl_2201 sr-91virtualt cell leukemiaaml-193monocytic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8441 sw-527virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_3799 sw-598virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_f649 sw-608virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_f653 sw-613virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_f650 sw-732virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_f651 sw-733virtualtumorsw-480/sw-620colon adenocarcinomacvcl_f652 t-1virtualkidneyhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m858 t-9virtualtransfected somatichelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_m092 t-33existent?terminal cmlk-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8427 tdl-1, tdl-2virtualtonsil lymphoidp3jhr-1burkitt's lymphomacvcl_8428, cvcl_8429 tdl-3virtualtonsil lymphoidrpmi-1788lymphoblastoidcvcl_8430 tdl-4virtualtonsil lymphoidrajiburkitt's lymphomacvcl_8431 ti-1virtualmyeloblastic leukemiak-562terminal cmldrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_l806 tmmterminal cmlunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoidcvcl_1894 tuwivirtualwilms' tumorhelacervical adenocarcinomacvcl_8275 u-937existenthistiocytic lymphomaunknownunknowncvcl_0007 umjf-2myelomaunknownepstein-barr virus-transfected b cell lymphoblastoiddrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_m548 ut-7existenthistiocytic lymphomaunknownunknowncvcl_2233 utmb-460virtualb cellccrf-cemt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8276 wishvirtualamnionhelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_1909 wong-kilbournevirtualconjunctivahelacervical adenocarcinoma; lacroix (2008)cvcl_2764 wsu-alclvirtualanaplastic large cell lymphomaccrf-cemt cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_a036 wsu-cllvirtualb cell leukemiarehpre-b cell leukemiadrexler et al. (2002a)cvcl_a049 yaavirtualmonocyteu-937histiocytic lymphomadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8466 yapvirtualmonocyteu-937histiocytic lymphomadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8467 yjvirtualmonocytic leukemiahl-60myeloblastic leukemiadrexler et al. (2003)cvcl_8931 contaminated non-human cell lines supposed cell lineexistent?supposed cell typereal cell linereal cell typereferencecellosaurus aedes vexans, ,aedes aegypti suitor's clonen/aunknownemperor gum moth ovary?cvcl_1r46, cvcl_1r47, cvcl_1r48 gps-m, gps-pdguinea pig spleenstrain l-mlaboratory mouse connective tissuecvcl_1r31, cvcl_1r32 lt-1leopard frog renal adenocarcinomath-1/fhmeastern box turtle heart / fathead minnow epitheliumcvcl_1r49 notes the original citation was ambiguous on which of these citations was being referenced, so both have been added here. the citations of this article contain some papers on how common contaminates can be recognized. an updated list can be obtained from international cell line authentication committee website.