National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has received high-level representations regarding problems associated with the use of contaminated and incorrectly identified cultured cell lines in research.
These representations highlighted the extent of cell line contamination with either mycoplasma or other cell lines and the problems that can arise in interpreting data from their use. As a result, some scientific journals (eg. Cell Biochemistry and Biophysics) now require verification of cell line identity.
NHMRC recognises that the use of contaminated cultured cell lines is a major concern for health and medical research and encourages all researchers to test their cell lines for authenticity and mycoplasma contamination. This principle has now been reflected in the NHMRC Universal Funding Rules as follows:
Concern exists within the scientific community regarding the impact of contamination with mycoplasma and other cells in eukaryotic cell lines, and the use of incorrectly characterised cell lines, on the validity of research outcomes. NHMRC recommends that researchers employ quality assurance procedures to ensure their eukaryotic cell lines are free from mycoplasma and other contaminant cells, and are verified as the cell type required.