In cell biology, U87 is a human primary glioblastoma cell line formally known as U-87 MG (abbreviation for Uppsala 87 Malignant Glioma). It has epithelial morphology, and was obtained from a stage four 44-year-old cancer patient. In 2016, the commonly used version of U87MG was found to be non-identical to its patient of origin.
U-87 MG can be obtained from the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC) where it is known by the accession number HTB-14.
The entire sequence of the genome of U-87 MG has been published in PLoS Genetics, 2010 January; 6(1): e1000832.
In 2016 Bengt Westermark, a tumour biologist at Uppsala used DNA-fingerprinting techniques to show that the ATCC’s U87 was different from the original U87 tissue, suggesting a contamination, indeed the original cell line was from a woman but the ATCC’s U87 has a Y chromosome, so the real origin of this cell line is unknown.
Growth conditions
U87 growth media is generally made with Eagle's minimum essential medium + 10% FBS + 100 U/ml penicillin + 100 ug/ml streptomycin. It is propagated at 37 degrees Celsius in a 5% carbon dioxide atmosphere.