AVS 54th International Symposium
    Biomaterial Interfaces Tuesday Sessions
       Session BI-TuA

Paper BI-TuA4
Expanding Human Embryonic Stem Cells without Feeder Cells on Chitosan-Alginate 3D Porous Scaffolds

Tuesday, October 16, 2007, 2:40 pm, Room 609

Session: Engineered Cellular Interfaces
Presenter: M.C. Leung, University of Washington
Authors: M.C. Leung, University of Washington
L. Zhensheng, University of Washington
M. Zhang, University of Washington
Correspondent: Click to Email

The tremendous interest in human embryonic stem (hES) cells is motivated by a wide range of potential therapeutic, diagnostic, and fundamental research applications. To preserve their undifferentiated state, two-dimensional co-culture with feeder cells is standard practice.1,2,3 In order to develop therapeutic applications, a system for the undifferentiated expansion of hES cells in pure culture must be developed to prevent xenogenic contamination.4,5,6 With BG01V cells as a model, porous chitosan-alginate (CA) scaffolds were studied as a three dimensional (3D) substrate for undifferentiated hES cell proliferation. It was observed that hES cells attached, proliferated, expressed relevant transcription factors, translated appropriate markers, and retained pluripotency after 21 days of cultivation. Furthermore, the 3D CA culture system replicates the structure of natural extra cellular matrix, creating additional opportunities for regenerative medicine. This method realizes the goal of expanding pure hES cell populations in vitro while preserving undifferentiated state, and represents a significant advancement in hES cultivation technique.

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6Hoffman, L. M. & Carpenter, M. K. Characterization and culture of human embryonic stem cells. Nat Biotechnol 23, 699-708 (2005). .