Here is why you should acquire the SUM Breast Cancer Cell Lines, or any cancer cell line for that matter, from a reputable source, and never obtain cells from a friend, colleague or neighboring lab. I and my colleagues are actively trying to discourage this practice. Please see our recent Nature Methods paper ( http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26020501 )for some of the reasons why this is an important issue. We have heard from many colleagues that when they obtain our cells from other laboratories that they are often contaminated with mycoplasma, which compromises the health and biological properties of the cells. In addition, when one obtains a cell line from anywhere but the originating laboratory, one runs the additional risk that the cells are not even the line that you think they are. Laboratories confuse cell lines all the time, and since you are unfamiliar with the cells, you have no way of knowing if the cells you obtain are what you think they are. Finally, I have noticed that it is common for laboratories that obtain the SUM lines to grow them in media that is different from what I recommend. Because cell lines are heterogeneous, the characteristics of the cell line you obtain from a lab that has not grown the cells properly, may be very different from the original cell line, and you will have no way to know this. Given three three concerns, I strongly encourage you to obtain the cells from BioIVT, or obtain the derivative cell lines from my lab . I understand that even the academic price for the cells through BioIVT($900.00 U.S.) seems expensive. However, this is about the same cost as two vials of antibody that gets used and has to be purchased again. For that same cost, you can obtain cells that have been validated by genetic finger printing, and are guaranteed to be mycoplasma free and never have to be re-purchased. To me, this peace of mind is more than worth the money. Keep in mind also, that in the future, all journals will require genomic/genetic validation of cell line identity. If you obtain cells from another lab, you will have to do your own validation, which can also be expensive. At the end of the day, it is the rigor and integrity of your research that is on the line. Let me know if I can help.
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