Identity of original and late passage Dami megakaryocytes with HEL erythroleukemia cells shown by combined cytogenetics and DNA fingerprinting

Abstract

During routine authentication checks, we noticed untoward karyotypic similarities between late-passage stocks of the Dami megakaryocyte and HEL erythroleukemia cell lines. Genetic identity of Dami with HEL was demonstrated by DNA fingerprinting with a (gtg)₅ multilocus probe and confirmed for earlier passages of Dami deposited by its originators with the ATCC. As initial passage stocks of Dami are no longer available for comparison, we investigated whether cross-contamination by HEL was more likely to have occurred during Dami’s establishment or subsequently, by karyotyping currently available stocks of both cell lines for comparison with that originally reported for Dami. We found that the karyotype of current stocks of Dami overwhelmingly resembles that described in the original report, having retained at least 16/18 structural chromosome rearrangements as described therein, cf. 12/20 shared by current stocks of Dami and HEL. HEL’s antecedence is shown by the retention of normal homologs of chromosomes, 6, 18, and 21 – all rearranged in Dami. These results confirm the identity of current and early passage stocks of Dami and their common origin by cross-contamination with HEL which had occurred by July 1987, a year prior to publication. Thus, most, if not all, studies using Dami are likely to have employed HEL instead and may require reappraisal.