title: Methods for culturing human embryonic stem cells in a xeno-free system.
abstract: Defined pluripotent stem cell culture media is a valuable tool for tracking and analyzing morphological, cell signaling and gene expression changes in human embryonic stem cells. Cultivation of hESC under xeno-free culture settings provides researchers with a consistent and reproducible environment to test experimental hypotheses and move towards translational and clinical research (Richards et al., Nat Biotechnol 20:933-936, 2002; Richards et al., Stem Cells 21:546-556, 2003). One of the primary concerns of the xenogeneic culture is the transfer of foreign pathogens or antigens that induce disease or immune response by the patient. These undesirable by-products may come from the use of murine-derived feeder cells, xenogeneic matrices, or from animal-derived components found in the cell culture medium or matrix used to isolate or expand the stem cells (Beattie et al., Stem Cells 23:489-495, 2005; Koivisto et al., Reprod Biomed Online 9:330-337, 2004). This chapter describes standardized protocols for obtaining consistent and reproducible results for culturing PSC under xeno-free, feeder-free, or feeder-based systems.
authors.affiliation: Primary and Stem Cell Systems, Life Technologies, Carlsbad, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Jasmeet
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kaur
authors.forename: Mary Lynn
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Tilkins
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Eckert
authors.forename: Shayne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boucher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques; D018920:Coculture Techniques; D015925:Cryopreservation; D003470:Culture Media; D053595:Embryonic Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology / Q000502:physiology*; D061252:Feeder Cells; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000166:cytology; D052816:Foreskin / Q000166:cytology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D003470:Culture Media
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