TY - JOUR
T1 - Misidentified biomedical resources: Journal guidelines are not a quick fix
AU - Hepkema, Wytske
AU - Horbach, Serge Pascal Johannes M
AU - Hoek, Joyce
AU - Halffman, Willem
PY - 2022/4
Y1 - 2022/4
N2 - Biomedical researchers routinely use a variety of biological models and resources, such as cultured cell lines, antibodies and laboratory animals. Unfortunately, these resources are not flawless: cell lines can be misidentified; for antibodies, problems with specificity, lot-to-lot consistency and sensitivity are common; and the reliability of animal models is questioned due to poor translation of animal studies to human clinical trials. In some cases, these problems can render the results of a study meaningless. As a response, some journals have implemented guidelines regarding the use and reporting of cell lines, antibodies and laboratory animals. In our study we use a portfolio of existing and newly created datasets to investigate identification and authentication information of cell lines, antibodies and organisms before and after guideline introduction, compared to journals without guidelines. We observed a general improvement of reporting quality over time, which the implementation of guidelines accelerated only in some cases. We therefore conclude that the effectiveness of journal guidelines is likely to be context dependent, affected by factors such as implementation conditions, research community support and monitoring and resource availability. Hence, journal reporting guidelines in themselves are not a quick fix to repair shortcomings in biomedical resource documentation, even though they can be part of the solution.
AB - Biomedical researchers routinely use a variety of biological models and resources, such as cultured cell lines, antibodies and laboratory animals. Unfortunately, these resources are not flawless: cell lines can be misidentified; for antibodies, problems with specificity, lot-to-lot consistency and sensitivity are common; and the reliability of animal models is questioned due to poor translation of animal studies to human clinical trials. In some cases, these problems can render the results of a study meaningless. As a response, some journals have implemented guidelines regarding the use and reporting of cell lines, antibodies and laboratory animals. In our study we use a portfolio of existing and newly created datasets to investigate identification and authentication information of cell lines, antibodies and organisms before and after guideline introduction, compared to journals without guidelines. We observed a general improvement of reporting quality over time, which the implementation of guidelines accelerated only in some cases. We therefore conclude that the effectiveness of journal guidelines is likely to be context dependent, affected by factors such as implementation conditions, research community support and monitoring and resource availability. Hence, journal reporting guidelines in themselves are not a quick fix to repair shortcomings in biomedical resource documentation, even though they can be part of the solution.
KW - biomedical resources
KW - cell line authentication
KW - journal guidelines
KW - replication crisis
KW - reporting standards
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85120715598&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ijc.33882
DO - 10.1002/ijc.33882
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 34807460
SN - 0020-7136
VL - 150
SP - 1233
EP - 1243
JO - International Journal of Cancer
JF - International Journal of Cancer
IS - 8
ER -