Pluripotent Stem Cells

When acquiring hES cell lines from Cellartis you will receive a whole service package consisting of extensive protocols for the culture, freezing and thawing procedures as well as characterization documentation and highly qualified technical support.

In addition to the traditional manual hES cell cultures, Cellartis has developed a feeder-cell based culture system, SCED™461, for the easy propagation of hES cells by enzymatic digestion. The SCED™461 is easily implemented in your laboratory and is a ready-to-go solution for starting up hES cell work.

The availability of a large pool of defined hES cell lines with different characteristics ensures the possibility of finding optimal cell lines for specific applications. Cellartis can assist you with the selection of the most appropriate hES cell lines and passages to suit your specific research needs.

All hES cell lines supplied by Cellartis are derived from supernumerary embryos created for the purpose of assisted reproduction and donated with written informed consent from the patients. The donations did not result in any financial gain for the patients. Cellartis warrants that all research and handling of hES cells is based on careful ethical considerations and the company is guided by and follows all existing laws and regulations in the major markets.

CHARACTERIZATION

Each cell line derived at Cellartis is extensively characterized. The characterization includes stem cell marker analysis and karyotyping. Furthermore, telomerase and alkaline phosphatase activities are analyzed and the cells are assayed for in vivo and in vitro differentiation potential. The cell lines at Cellartis have been cultured in vitro for extended periods and endured repeated freezing and thawing cycles, while retaining pluripotency and stable karyotypes. All hES cell lines provided by Cellartis have been tested for the absence of Human Immunodeficiency Virus types 1 and 2, Hepatitis B and C, Cytomegalovirus, Herpes Simplex Virus types 1 and 2, Epstein-Barr Virus, and Human Papilloma Virus. In addition, the hES cell cultures are also regularly tested for the absence of mycoplasma.

THE LOT PRINCIPLE

In order to guarantee that the hES cells delivered from Cellartis exhibit the fundamental properties of undifferentiated hES cells, a LOT procedure is employed. Basically this means that the hES cell lines are propagated and expanded until a substantial number of vials (>100) can be frozen at one time. The simultaneously frozen vials of a specific cell line are referred to as one LOT. All characterization analyses of each LOT are performed on hES cells sampled from the frozen LOT after subsequent thawing. This procedure assures the quality and pluripotency of the cells delivered from Cellartis. Yet another advantage with the LOT procedure is that researchers repeatedly can receive new hES cells from the same passage and freezing day.

Several of Cellartis lines are also available through UK Stem Cell Bank as well as the US Stem Cell Bank.

ETHICAL SOURCING OF STEM CELLS

The company is guided by and follows all existing laws and regulations in the major markets (including Europe, USA and Japan). For further details see the ethics section.

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REFERENCES

1. Heins N et al. Derivation, Characterization, and Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Stem Cells. 2004 May;22(3):367-76.

2. Darnfors C et al. High-resolution analysis of the subtelomeric regions of human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells. 2005 24(4):483-8.

3. Noaksson K et al. Monitoring differentiation of human embryonic stem cells using real-time PCR. Stem Cells. 2005 23 (19):1460-7.

4. Maitra A et al. Genomic alterations in cultured human embryonic stem cells. Nature Genetics. 2005 37:1099-1103.

5. Heins N et al. Clonal derivation and characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines. J Biotechnol. 2006 122(4):511-20.

6. Ellerström C et al. Derivation of a xeno-free human embryonic stem cell line. Stem Cells. 2006 24(10):2170-76.

7. Bibikova M et al. Human embryonic stem cells have a unique epigenetic signature. Genome Res. 2006 16(9):1075-83.

8. International Stem Cell Initiative. Adewumi O et al., Characterization of human embryonic stem cell lines by the International Stem Cell Initiative Nature Biotechnology. 2007 25(7): 803-16.

9. Bigdeli N, et al, Co-culture of hES cells and human articular chondrocytes results in significantly altered phenotype and improved chondrogenic differentiation. Stem Cells 2009. 27:1812-1821.

10. Englund MC et al. The establishment of 20 different human embryonic stem cell lines and subclones; a report on derivation and banking. In Vitro Cell Dev Biol Anim. 2010 Feb 23.