ArticleScientific reports2025
Cell passage number drives transcriptomic drift as an overlooked factor in experimental reproducibility.
Article in Scientific reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Long-Term Culture of U87MG Glioblastoma Cells Reprograms Metabolism, Impacts Aggressiveness and Alters Drug Responses.Cell biochemistry and biophysics · 2026Article
- An Integrated DNA Nanoprobe for Intranuclear Imaging and In Situ Profiling of OGG1 Activity.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Placenta models for HIV-1-ART-nicotine comorbidity research: advances and remaining challenges.Cell death discovery · 2026Review
- Long-term cultivation shifts transcriptomic profile of HCT-116 cells.microPublication biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
The reproducibility of scientific research has been increasingly challenged in recent years. While extrinsic factors (e.g., cross-contamination, mycoplasma infection, serum variability) are well-studied, the role of intrinsic attributes like cell passage number remains underexplored. Using two tumor cell lines (ACHN and Renca), we employed RNA sequencing to analyze transcriptomic dynamics across passages (P3 to P39). Results revealed a nonlinear transcriptomic shift: mid-passage cells (P10/P11, P17) showed heightened activity in cell cycle, metabolism, and stress response, whereas low (P3) and high passages (P24/P39) exhibited stable and similar profiles. KEGG analysis indicated significant alterations in signaling, immune, and metabolic pathways during passaging. This study demonstrates that passage number shapes transcriptional landscapes and impacts experimental reproducibility. We advocate for strict passage control and explicit reporting of passage information to enhance reliability. These findings underscore the need for standardized cell culture practices to improve research reproducibility.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.