Cell lines are used widely in the biological sciences. Their ability to multiply indefinitely means that scientists can, in theory, exactly replicate previous studies and build on the results. But mislabeling or mishandling can lead to the misidentification, contamination, and distribution of problematic cell lines, which can, in turn, affect the validity of research data. According to a paper published today in eLife, using Research Resource Identifiers (RRIDs) helps reduce the improper use of cell lines in biomedical studies.
“These unique identifiers can be included in the methods section of a research paper to define the cell line, antibody, transgenic organism or software used,” explains co–first author Zeljana Babic of UCSD. “They can alert researchers to resources that flag problematic cell lines, such as the Cellosaurus database.”
According to Amos Bairoch of the University of Geneva, “The Cellosaurus database is the most comprehensive knowledge resource on cell lines. RRIDs for cell lines are created by this authoritative database.”
In their study, the team used a natural language processing algorithm to text-mine the methods sections of about two million scientific papers in PubMed Central. They used the algorithm to identify papers that included RRIDs and those that listed cell lines and then compared how often misidentified cell lines appeared in these two samples. They found that the use of RRIDs is associated with a lower reported use of problematic cell lines.
“But we must exercise caution when interpreting these results,” explains senior author Anita Bandrowski of UCSD. “The use of cell lines on the problematic list does not automatically mean that a given line is being employed improperly. Additionally, the list includes cell lines that have been labeled with the wrong type of cancer, but which may still be safely used if the researchers know the true identity of the line.”
The team adds that it is important to review the evidence underlying the findings and make a considered judgment regarding their impact on published work. “Cell-line resources, such as Cellosaurus and the ICLAC register of misidentified cell lines, have been developed to improve awareness of cell-line information,” Bandrowski concludes. “We hope that inclusion of RRIDs will result in improved use of these resources and better reporting of all research materials in future publications.”