Top 100 cell lines in research, 2025 update
5
Min Read
In this blog:
- Which cell lines are researchers citing most in publications?
- Which cell lines could be ones to watch for the future?
- Download the complete Top 100 Cell Lines dataset
At CiteAb, we use industry-leading AI-driven technology to identify reagent use from the scientific literature. Our market data helps companies make informed product development and strategy decisions, and our reagent search engine helps researchers find the right products.
For our final analyses in this year’s ‘Top 100’ – a blog series dissecting life science citation data to highlight the most used research tools – we share more on top cell lines from commercial repositories.
This analysis spans human and animal cell lines, cancer cell lines, neuroscience cell lines, and more, giving insight into how scientists are using these products in publications.
Which cell lines are proving popular in research? Does your cell line catalogue address demand?
Read on to find out, and don’t forget to download the complete top 100 cited cell line dataset at the bottom of this post.
Cell Line Market Overview
Our Cell Lines database captures citation data for over 480 thousand cell lines, spanning a diverse range of research areas including oncology, immunology, neuroscience and more.
For this analysis, we focused on the cell lines from commercial repositories researchers cited most frequently in 2024 publications.
Trends in the Cell Line Market – The Top 100 Dissected
Research Cell Lines Shaping the Market
Looking into our citation data, we uncovered the types of cell lines driving research trends.
The most cited cell line of 2024 remained HEK293T, reflecting its continued importance in research. In fact, it grew its citation share again this year, increasing from 6.94% to 8.39%.
Completing the top five were the HeLa cell line, HEK293 cell line, A-549 cell line and the Vero cell line. The top five cell lines cited in publications remain unchanged from last year’s analysis.
Building on the trends we commented on last year, COVID-associated models continued to slip in rank, indicating a post-pandemic decline in coronavirus research. For example Vero C1008 dropped two ranks, with its corresponding share declining from 2.56% to 2.24%.
Research Cell Lines to Watch
Several cell lines made significant gains in citation counts this year, entering or climbing the top 100 rankings and supporting scientists in their work.
One cell line we noticed was the BHK-21 clone 13 which almost doubled its share, impressively climbing into top 20.
New entrants into the top 100 list in 2024 included:
- LLC-MK2, isolated from kidney tissue (0.22%)
- PK-15, isolated from kidney tissue(0.21%)
- HRT-18, isolated from human (0.20%)
- SiHa, isolated from uterine tissue(0.16%)
- WI-38,isolated from lung tissue (0.16%)
- GM25256,isolated from skin tissue (0.16%)
- SK-MEL-28, isolated from skin tissue (0.15%)
Cell lines which we may expect to enter the top 100 list soon include BTI-Tn-5B1-4 and BT-549 which are currently ranked just outside the top 100. Are you seeing increasing interest in these products from researchers?
Emerging research focus areas
We also noticed a number of cell lines growing in use, which could point to emerging research trends to pay attention to.
Neuroscience cell lines
- HMC3 (human microglia) grew impressively this year in use, a trend we also commented on last year
- SH-SY5Y, a human derived cell line, held steady at ~1.3%, placing it in the top 20 and demonstrating consistent demand
The use of these cell lines, and others in the top 100, could reflect growth in neuroinflammation, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neuroscience research areas.
Data on individual cell lines is taken from our cell lines market insight package. This data analyses the top cell lines by individual vendors, and their share. If you’re interested in learning more about this data package, get in touch with the team here.
Immunology cell lines:
- THP-1 (a monocytic cell line) continued to climb up the ranks
- K-562 grew, breaking the 1% citation share.
The increasing use of these cell lines points to sustained interest in immune signalling, CAR-T development, immune responses, and other immunology studies.
Andrew Chalmers, CiteAb CEO, commented:
I am always particularly interested to see new cell lines entering the top 100, showing how the focus of life science research is constantly evolving, from post-pandemic adjustments to the growing use of certain neuroscience and immunology cell lines. It’s great to see how scientists are using these vital research tools to support discoveries, and gain insights into where research could be heading next.
Wrap Up
The cell line market remains diverse and dynamic. Our data reveals both established leaders and fast-rising cell lines entering the top 100 and gaining traction across fields.
Download the complete Top 100 Cell Lines dataset below to conduct your own analysis.
In a competitive market, quantitative insight into how researchers use cell lines drives smarter strategy and cell line portfolio development. Get in touch for a demo, showing how our data can reduce risk for your teams here.
If you’ve missed any of the previous top 100 analyses, you can catch up here:
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