title: In situ label-free quantification of human pluripotent stem cells with electrochemical potential.
abstract: Conventional methods for quantification of undifferentiated pluripotent stem cells such as fluorescence-activated cell sorting and real-time PCR analysis have technical limitations in terms of their sensitivity and recyclability. Herein, we designed a real-time in situ label-free monitoring system on the basis of a specific electrochemical signature of human pluripotent stem cells in vitro. The intensity of the signal of hPSCs highly corresponded to the cell number and remained consistent in a mixed population with differentiated cells. The electrical charge used for monitoring did not markedly affect the proliferation rate or molecular characteristics of differentiated human aortic smooth muscle cells. After YM155 treatment to ablate undifferentiated hPSCs, their specific signal was significantly reduced. This suggests that detection of the specific electrochemical signature of hPSCs would be a valid approach to monitor potential contamination of undifferentiated hPSCs, which can assess the risk of teratoma formation efficiently and economically.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea; Department of Translational Research, Korea Health Industry Development Institute (KHIDI), Cheongju 28159, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Cheol-Heon
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yea
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ho-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Jeong
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, School of Medicine, Konkuk University, Seoul 05029, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sung-Hwan
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Stem Cell Research Center, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology (KRIBB), Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Mi-Ok
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Kyeong-Jun
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea; Interdisciplinary Program of Integrated Biotechnology, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jwchoi@sogang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jeong-Woo
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Sciences, Sogang University, Seoul 04107, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: hjcha@sogang.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Hyuk-Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Cha
mesh_terms: D002454:Cell Differentiation; D055664:Electrochemical Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D032389:Myocytes, Smooth Muscle / Q000166:cytology; D039904:Pluripotent Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D013194:Staining and Labeling
keywords: Cell-chip; Cyclic voltammetry; Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs); In situ quantification; Teratoma