Microcarriers for stem cell culture
First Claim
1. A method for achieving stable, long-term culture, expansion, and differentiation of stem cells in vitro, the method comprising:
- (i) attaching stem cells to a plurality of first microcarriers to form microcarrier-stem cell complexes, wherein the surface of the first microcarriers is coated in an extracellular matrix component;
(ii) culturing the microcarrier-stem cell complexes in suspension culture;
(iii) passaging the cultured cells from (ii); and
(iv) repeating steps (i)-(iii) through 7 passages,wherein stem cells are expanding between each passage, wherein stem cells in the culture after step (iv) are pluripotent or multipotent, whereby stable, long-term culture and expansion of stem cells are achieved in suspension in vitro, wherein the achievement of stable, long-term culture is characterized by 50% or more of the stem cells in the culture after step (iv) have the ability to differentiate, if pluripotent, into endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm, if multipotent, into cells of a limited number of types within a particular lineage, and retain at least one stem cell characteristic selected from the group consisting of expression of a pluripotency marker, cell viability, and normal karyotype, and wherein the achievement of expansion is characterized by the number of cultured, expanded cells at the end of step (ii) being at least 0.2 order of magnitude greater than the number of cells attached to the microcarriers in step (i);
(v) transferring pluripotent or multipotent stem cells obtained from (iv) to a plurality of second microcarriers to form microcarrier-stem cell complexes, wherein the surface of the second microcarriers is coated in a matrix or is uncoated; and
(vi) culturing the microcarrier-stem cell complexes from (v) in suspension culture under conditions that induce the differentiation of the stem cells.
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Abstract
We disclose a particle comprising a matrix coated thereon and having a positive charge, the particle being of a size to allow aggregation of primate or human stem cells attached thereto. The particle may comprise a substantially elongate, cylindrical or rod shaped particle having a longest dimension of between 50 μm and 400 μm, such as about 200 μm. It may have a cross sectional dimension of between 20 μm and 30 μm. The particle may comprise a substantially compact or spherical shaped particle having a size of between about 20 μm and about 120 μm, for example about 65 μm. We also disclose a method of propagating primate or human stem cells, the method comprising: providing first and second primate or human stem cells attached to first and second respective particles, allowing the first primate or human stem cell to contact the second primate or human stem cell to form an aggregate of cells and culturing the aggregate to propagate the primate or human stem cells for at least one passage. A method of propagating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) in long term suspension culture using microcarriers coated in Matrigel or hyaluronic acid is also disclosed. We also disclose a method for differentiating stem cells.
33 Citations
15 Claims
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1. A method for achieving stable, long-term culture, expansion, and differentiation of stem cells in vitro, the method comprising:
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(i) attaching stem cells to a plurality of first microcarriers to form microcarrier-stem cell complexes, wherein the surface of the first microcarriers is coated in an extracellular matrix component; (ii) culturing the microcarrier-stem cell complexes in suspension culture; (iii) passaging the cultured cells from (ii); and (iv) repeating steps (i)-(iii) through 7 passages, wherein stem cells are expanding between each passage, wherein stem cells in the culture after step (iv) are pluripotent or multipotent, whereby stable, long-term culture and expansion of stem cells are achieved in suspension in vitro, wherein the achievement of stable, long-term culture is characterized by 50% or more of the stem cells in the culture after step (iv) have the ability to differentiate, if pluripotent, into endoderm, ectoderm, and mesoderm, if multipotent, into cells of a limited number of types within a particular lineage, and retain at least one stem cell characteristic selected from the group consisting of expression of a pluripotency marker, cell viability, and normal karyotype, and wherein the achievement of expansion is characterized by the number of cultured, expanded cells at the end of step (ii) being at least 0.2 order of magnitude greater than the number of cells attached to the microcarriers in step (i); (v) transferring pluripotent or multipotent stem cells obtained from (iv) to a plurality of second microcarriers to form microcarrier-stem cell complexes, wherein the surface of the second microcarriers is coated in a matrix or is uncoated; and (vi) culturing the microcarrier-stem cell complexes from (v) in suspension culture under conditions that induce the differentiation of the stem cells. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification