Biomaterial Database

A scalable culture system incorporating microcarrier for specialised mesenchymal stem cells from human embryonic stem cells. 2023

Tingting Gao, and Xiyuan Zhao, and Jie Hao, and Yao Tian, and Huike Ma, and Wenjing Liu, and Bin An, and Faguo Sun, and Shasha Liu, and Baojie Guo, and Shuaishuai Niu, and Zhongwen Li, and Chenxin Wang, and Yukai Wang, and Guihai Feng, and Liu Wang, and Wei Li, and Jun Wu, and Meijin Guo, and Qi Zhou, and Qi Gu

State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology, State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.

Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a desirable cell source for cell therapy owing to their capacity to be produced stably and homogeneously in large quantities. However, a scalable culture system for hPSC-derived MSCs is urgently needed to meet the cell quantity and quality requirements of practical clinical applications. In this study, we developed a new microcarrier with hyaluronic acid (HA) as the core material, which allowed scalable serum-free suspension culture of hESC-derived MSCs (IMRCs). We used optimal microcarriers with a coating collagen concentration of 100 μg/mL or concave-structured surface (cHAMCs) for IMRC amplification in a stirred bioreactor, expanding IMRCs within six days with the highest yield of over one million cells per milliliter. In addition, the harvested cells exhibited high viability, immunomodulatory and regenerative therapeutic promise comparable to monolayer cultured MSCs while showing more increased secretion of extracellular matrix (ECM), particularly collagen-related proteins. In summary, we have established a scalable culture system for hESC-MSCs, providing novel approaches for future cell therapies.