title: Serum and xeno-free, chemically defined, no-plate-coating-based culture system for mesenchymal stromal cells from the umbilical cord.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Umbilical cord mesenchymal stromal cells (UCMSCs) can be considered to become a new gold standard for MSC-based therapies. A serum and xeno-free, chemically defined and no-plate-coating-based culture system will greatly facilitate development of robust, clinically acceptable bioprocesses for reproducibly generating quality-assured UCMSCs.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this study, we report for the first time, such a serum-free, xeno-free, completely chemically defined and no-plate-coating-based culture system for the isolation and expansion of UCMSCs, whose biological characteristics were evaluated and compared with serum-containing medium (SCM) methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This culture system not only supported UCMSC primary cultures but also allowed for their expansion at low seeding density. Compared to SCM, UCMSCs in SFM exhibited (i) higher proliferative and colony-forming capacities; (ii) distinctly different morphologies; (iii) similar phenotype; (iv) similar pluripotency-associated marker expression; (v) superior osteogenic, but reduced adipogenic differentiation capacitities. In addition, UCMSCs cultured in SFM retained similar immunomodulatory properties to those in SCM.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings demonstrate the feasibility of isolating and expanding UCMSCs in a completely serum-free, xeno-free, chemically defined and no-plate-coating-based culture system and represent an important step forward for development of robust, clinically acceptable bioprocesses for UCMSCs. Further, this provides a superior study platform for UCMSCs biology in a controlled environment.
authors: Department of pharmacy, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.|Department of Technology, Beijing JingMeng Stem Cell Technology. Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.
authors: Xiaoyun
authors: X
authors: Wu
authors: Department of Technology, Beijing JingMeng Stem Cell Technology. Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.
authors: Huiyan
authors: H
authors: Kang
authors: Department of Technology, Beijing JingMeng Stem Cell Technology. Co. Ltd., Beijing, China.
authors: Xuemin
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Beijing Institute of Life Science Translational Medicine Research Center, Beijing, China.|Center for Tissue Engineering and Technology of Inner Mongolia, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, China.
authors: Jin
authors: J
authors: Gao
authors: Department of pharmacy, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.
authors: Kuijun
authors: K
authors: Zhao
authors: Department of pharmacy, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. 13811647091@163.com.
authors: Zhijie
authors: Z
authors: Ma
mesh_terms: D050156:Adipogenesis; D000328:Adult; D018929:Cell Culture Techniques / Q000379:methods*; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002469:Cell Separation; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free / Q000737:chemistry*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016130:Immunophenotyping; D059630:Mesenchymal Stem Cells / Q000166:cytology*; D010012:Osteogenesis; D014470:Umbilical Cord / Q000166:cytology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D016895:Culture Media, Serum-Free