In a study published in Nature Communications, the expression of all human protein-coding genes in more than 1,000 human cell lines representing 27 cancer types was investigated using genome-wide transcriptomics analysis.

Cell lines are frequently used as models for human biology and in translational medicine, and it is therefore important to explore the concordance between the gene expression in various human cell lines and their normal tissue and disease tissue counterparts. The expression profiles were studied in a multitude of cell lines, as well as cell lines grouped according to their tumor origin, and the profiles were compared with the corresponding profiles in various tissues, organs, single-cell types and tumors. The results show a high similarity of gene expression distribution and specificity between cell lines and corresponding tumor datasets. In addition, the most representative cell lines for each of the 26 TCGA cancer types studied are suggested based on correlation and enrichment analyses. The cell lines were further evaluated from a functional perspective by inferring the cancer-related pathway and cytokine activity. All data from this study is presented in the cell line section of the open access Human Protein Atlas to facilitate for researchers to find the best cell line model for a particular biological study.

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