A novel stem cell tag-less sorting method.
Growing interest in stem cell research has led to the development of a number of new methods for isolation. The lack of homogeneity in stem cell preparation blurs standardization, which however is recommended for successful applications. Among stem cells, mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for cell therapy applications. This paper presents a fractionation protocol based on a tag-less, flow-assisted method of purifying, distinguishing and sorting MSCs. The protocol entails a suspension of cells in a transport fluid being injected into a ribbon-like capillary device by continuous flow. In a relatively short time (about 30 min) sorted cells are collected. The protocol has been applied to the improvement of MSC isolation, with a specific view to reducing cell manipulation operations, keeping instrumental simplicity and increasing analytical information for cell characterization. Applications such as MSC purification from epithelial contaminants, MSC characterization from various human sources and sorting of MSC subpopulations with high differentiation potential are described. The low cost, full biocompatibility and scale-up potential of the protocol presented could make the procedure attractive for stem cell selection.
Roda
Barbara
B
Department of Chemistry G. Ciamician, I-40126, Bologna, Italy.
Lanzoni
Giacomo
G
Alviano
Francesco
F
Zattoni
Andrea
A
Costa
Roberta
R
Di Carlo
Arianna
A
Marchionni
Cosetta
C
Franchina
Michele
M
Ricci
Francesca
F
Tazzari
Pier Luigi
PL
Pagliaro
Pasqualepaolo
P
Scalinci
Sergio Zaccaria
SZ
Bonsi
Laura
L
Reschiglian
Pierluigi
P
Bagnara
Gian Paolo
GP
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002469:Cell Separation / Q000379:methods*; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004847:Epithelial Cells / Q000166:cytology; D017022:Flow Injection Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*