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Mycoplasma Infection Alters Cancer Stem Cell Properties in Vitro

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Abstract

Cancer cell lines can be useful to model cancer stem cells. Infection with Mycoplasma species is an insidious problem in mammalian cell culture. While investigating stem-like properties in early passage melanoma cell lines, we noted poorly reproducible results from an aliquot of a cell line that was later found to be infected with Mycoplasma hyorhinis. Deliberate infection of other early passage melanoma cell lines aliquots induced variable and unpredictable effects on expression of putative cancer stem cell markers, clonogenicity, proliferation and global gene expression. Cell lines established in stem cell media (SCM) were equally susceptible. Mycoplasma status is rarely reported in publications using cultured cells to study the cancer stem cell hypothesis. Our work highlights the importance of surveillance for Mycoplasma infection while using any cultured cells to interrogate tumor heterogeneity.

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Abbreviations

CSC:

Cancer stem cell

SCM:

Stem cell media

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Acknowledgments

CG was kindly supported by an NHMRC Biomedical Research PhD Scholarship (280925), a MOGA/COSA/Roche HOTT Fellowship and a Royal Australasian College of Physicians Australia Post Fellowship. MA was supported by a Cancer Council of Victoria PhD Scholarship. JC was a Practitioner Fellow of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC; 487905). IDD was supported by a Victorian Cancer Agency Clinician Researcher Fellowship and was an NHMRC Practitioner Fellow (487907). We acknowledge the support of a Melanoma Research Alliance (MRA) Team science Award and the Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support Program for partial funding of this project.

Author Contributions

Craig Gedye: Conception and design, collection and/or assembly of data, analysis and interpretation, manuscript writing, final approval of manuscript.

Tracy Cardwell: Collection and/or assembly of data.

Nektaria Dimopoulos: Collection and/or assembly of data.

Bee Shin Tan: Collection and/or assembly of data.

Heather Jackson: Collection and/or assembly of data.

Suzanne Svobodová: Collection and/or assembly of data.

Matthew Anaka: Collection and/or assembly of data, data analysis and interpretation.

Andreas Behren: Collection and/or assembly of data, data analysis and interpretation.

Christopher Maher: data analysis and interpretation.

Oliver Hofmann: data analysis and interpretation.

Winston Hide: Conception and design, provision of study materials.

Otavia Caballero: Conception and design, provision of study materials, final approval of manuscript.

Ian D. Davis: Conception and design, provision of study materials, final approval of manuscript.

Jonathan Cebon: Conception and design, financial support, provision of study materials, final approval of manuscript.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Craig Gedye

    Present address: University of Newcastle, School of Biomedical Sciences and Pharmacy, Hunter Medical Research Institute, New Lambton Heights, NSW, 2305, Australia

  2. Christopher Maher

    Present address: Washington University Genome Institute, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, Austin Hospital, Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia

    Craig Gedye, Tracy Cardwell, Nektaria Dimopoulos, Bee Shin Tan, Heather Jackson, Suzanne Svobodová, Matthew Anaka, Andreas Behren, Ian D. Davis & Jonathan Cebon

  2. School of Cancer Medicine, LaTrobe University, Olivia Newton-John Cancer Research Institute, Level 5, Olivia Newton-John Cancer & Wellness Centre, Austin Health, 145-163 Studley Road, Heidelberg, VIC, 3084, Australia

    Tracy Cardwell, Andreas Behren & Jonathan Cebon

  3. South African National Bioinformatics Institute, University of the Western Cape, Private Bag X17, Bellville, 7535, South Africa

    Christopher Maher, Oliver Hofmann & Winston Hide

  4. Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health, 655 Huntington Avenue, SPH2, 4th Floor, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Oliver Hofmann & Winston Hide

  5. Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, New York Branch at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, 1275 York Avenue, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Otavia Caballero

  6. Eastern Health Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, and Eastern Health, Box Hill Hospital, 5 Arnold St, Box Hill, VIC, 3128, Australia

    Ian D. Davis

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  1. Craig Gedye
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jonathan Cebon.

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Gedye, C., Cardwell, T., Dimopoulos, N. et al. Mycoplasma Infection Alters Cancer Stem Cell Properties in Vitro. Stem Cell Rev and Rep 12, 156–161 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-015-9630-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12015-015-9630-8

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