STR profiling of HTLV-1-infected cell lines

Many investigations of the replication and pathogenesis of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) employ chronically infected cell lines, cell lines stabilized from primary adult T-cell leukemia cells, and noninfected T-cell lines. The validity of data obtained from such studies depends on the unambiguous identification of each cell line, which can be performed by short-tandem-repeat (STR) profiling (DNA fingerprinting). While kit-based profiling represents the standard method for cell line authentication, not all labs have ready access to the required capillary electrophoresis equipment, and the costs of such tests can become substantial, especially if the cell lines are to be tested frequently. We analyzed DNA from a panel of HTLV-1-infected cell lines and noninfected T-cell lines using a commercial STR kit and then analyzed the same DNA for individual STR markers followed by nondenaturing polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. This simplified method should facilitate routine confirmation of cell line identity in diverse laboratory settings.