cell biology Cell biology (also cellular biology or cytology) is a branch of biology that studies the structure, function, and behavior of cells. All living organisms are made of cells. A cell is the basic unit of life that is responsible for the living and ...

, U87 is a human

glioblastoma Glioblastoma, previously known as glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is one of the most aggressive types of cancer that begin within the brain. Initially, signs and symptoms of glioblastoma are nonspecific. They may include headaches, personality ch ...

cell line An immortalised cell line is a population of cells from a multicellular organism which would normally not proliferate indefinitely but, due to mutation, have evaded normal cellular senescence and instead can keep undergoing division. The cell ...

that is commonly used in

brain cancer A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondar ...

research.

History and Characteristics

Formally known as U-87 MG (abbreviation for Uppsala 87 Malignant Glioma), the U87 cell line has an

epithelial Epithelium or epithelial tissue is one of the four basic types of animal tissue, along with connective tissue, muscle tissue and nervous tissue. It is a thin, continuous, protective layer of compactly packed cells with a little intercellula ...

morphology Morphology, from the Greek and meaning "study of shape", may refer to: Disciplines *Morphology (archaeology), study of the shapes or forms of artifacts *Morphology (astronomy), study of the shape of astronomical objects such as nebulae, galaxies, ...

and was obtained from a 44-year-old female patient in 1966 at

Uppsala University Uppsala University ( sv, Uppsala universitet) is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in opera ...

. The cell line was thought to be deposited at the

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

in 1973, after which the ATCC obtained it in 1982. However, in 2016 the commonly used version of U87MG (from the ATCC) was found to be non-identical to its patient of origin. Analysis of

DNA profile DNA profiling (also called DNA fingerprinting) is the process of determining an individual's DNA characteristics. DNA analysis intended to identify a species, rather than an individual, is called DNA barcoding. DNA profiling is a Forensic DNA ...

and

mtDNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial DNA ...

position suggest that the Uppsala U-87 MG line is authentic to the original tumor tissue while the ATCC U-87 MG line is not; The ATCC line is likely a bona fide human glioblastoma cell line of unknown origin. The entire sequence of the genome of U-87 MG has been published in PLoS Genetics. U-87 MG can be obtained from the

American Type Culture Collection ATCC or the American Type Culture Collection is a nonprofit organization which collects, stores, and distributes standard reference microorganisms, cell lines and other materials for research and development. Established in 1925 to serve as a natio ...

(ATCC) where it is known by the accession number HTB-14 and it is reported that the cell line comes from a male patient of unknown age.

Growth conditions

U87 growth media is generally made with

Eagle's minimum essential medium Minimal Essential Medium (MEM) is a synthetic cell culture medium developed by Harry Eagle first published in 1959 in ''Science'' that can be used to maintain cells in tissue culture. It is based on 6 salts and glucose described in Earle's salts ...

+ 10% FBS + 100 U/mL penicillin + 100 µg/mL streptomycin. It is propagated at 37 °C in a 5% carbon dioxide atmosphere.

References

External links

ATCC record for HTB-14Cellosaurus entry for U87
Human cell lines {{Cell-biology-stub