Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking

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Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have the ability to self-renew indefinitely and differentiate into all cell types. This makes them an invaluable source of material for multiple applications, such as disease modeling, toxicology screening, and cell replacement therapies. These properties, along with more accessible and efficient reprogramming and genome editing techniques, have contributed to the rapid increase in the number of hPSC lines being created and used worldwide.

By 2018, it was estimated that over 10,000 hPSC lines had been reported in the literature based on an analysis of more than 3,500 hPSC research papers. This figure, combined with the finding that approximately one third of the lines submitted for distribution were found to fail minimal quality criteria, raises concerns about the lack of consensus on hPSC quality attributes and reproducibility between research groups.

Newly generated or established hPSC lines must be characterized to ensure consistency and reproducibility in stem cell research across labs. Although characterization takes time and can be expensive, it is possible to spread the cost over many years and projects by creating a well-characterized cell bank. Periodically thawing and assessing new vials from the bank can boost confidence that the cells have not drifted too far from the characterized bank. As well as helping to achieve cell line standardization, a fully characterized hPSC bank ensures your supply of consistent, high-quality hPSCs as a starting point for further research.

Continue reading below for resourcesincluding related webinars, publications, and toolsto learn how to build a characterized cell bank to ensure your supply of consistent, high-quality cells.

Many hPSC lines are available, but not all of them pass quality tests. Characterizing your cells ensures that you know what you're working with and facilitates reproducibility in your research. In this seminar, Dr. Matthew Hildebrandt from STEMCELL Technologies reviews why its important to characterize cell lines. He also discusses how to build a well-characterized working cell bank to ensure consistent cells throughout a project and how it can help you save time and money in the long term.

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Dr. Matthew Hildebrandt

Product Manager, Pluripotent Stem Cell Biology STEMCELL Technologies

Matthew Hildebrandt obtained his PhD from the University of Alberta with Dr. Roseline Godbout, where he studied post-transcriptional regulation during the stages of preimplantation in mice. Before joining STEMCELL Technologies in 2019, Matthew was a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. James Ellis at SickKids in Toronto, where he continued studying post-transcriptional regulation during development while also supporting the development of a set of highly characterized control human iPSCs for disease modeling research.

Dr. Glyn Stacey, Director of the International Stem Cell Banking Initiative (ISCBI), discusses standards for PSC banking with a focus on scientific challenges for PSCs, standardization of ethics, the role of stem cell biobanks, and best practices for cell therapy. This presentation and the following Q&A session were moderated by Dr. Joanne Mountford, formerly from the University of Glasgow.

This presentation was part of a Round Table series in 2018 titled Challenges in Ensuring hPSC Quality, hosted by STEMCELL Technologies in partnership with Nature Research. Global experts gathered at the Springer Nature headquarters in London, UK, to tackle some of the most pertinent issues impacting the use of hPSCs, ranging from fundamental biology research to therapeutic applications. Explore the full series here.

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Dr. Glyn Stacey

Director International Stem Cell Banking Initiative (ISCBI)

Dr. Glyn Stacey began his career as a microbiologist in the UK Public Health Service and moved into cancer research at the University of Southampton. After ten years at the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research at Porton Down, Dr. Glyn Stacey founded a new cell biology unit at the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), South Mimms. At NIBSC he developed workstreams on the suitability of cell substrates for the manufacture of vaccines, biotherapeutics, and genetic diagnostic reference materials. In 2003 he successfully submitted a proposal to create the UK Stem Cell Bank, which he led as Director and developed as a world-leading resource center for human stem cell lines. He also established the International Stem Cell Banking Initiative in 2007, which has developed to coordinate international pluripotent stem cell banks. In October 2017 he set up SSCBio Ltd, an independent consultancy providing support for strategy development, advice, and education in the life sciences.

In this panel discussion led by Dr. Ludovic Vallier, formerly from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, and Dr. Joanne Mountford, formerly from the University of Glasgow, keynote speakers respond to questions from the forum and evaluate findings on topics raised in the previous talks.

This presentation was part of a Round Table series in 2018 titled Challenges in Ensuring hPSC Quality, hosted by STEMCELL Technologies in partnership with Nature Research. Global experts gathered at the Springer Nature headquarters in London, UK, to tackle some of the most pertinent issues impacting the use of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), ranging from fundamental biology research to therapeutic applications. Explore the full series here.

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Dr. Ludovic Vallier

Formerly at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute

Dr. Ludovic Vallier graduated from the University Claude Bernard Lyon I in 1997 with a degree in Molecular Biology and Immunology. He earned his PhD from the Ecole Normale Superieure de Lyon in 2001 under Pierre Savatier's supervision, studying mechanisms that control the cell cycle in mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells. Following a year of working in the biotechnology industry, Dr. Ludovic Vallier joined Professor Pedersen's group at the University of Cambridge Department of Surgery. In 2008, he joined Anne McLaren's Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine (LRM) as a Principal Investigator and MRC non-clinical senior fellow.

Dr. Vallier was a Professor of Regenerative Medicine affiliated with the department of Surgery and director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre hiPSCs (human induced pluripotent stem cells) core facility. He was co-deputy director of the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute in 2019, was elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2020, and joined the editorial board of Stem Cell Reports as an associate editor. In parallel, he has been involved in the creation of several biotechnology companies, including DefiniGEN and BiliTech. Dr. Vallier now serves as a Professor of Stem Cells in Regenerative Therapies at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charit (BIH). His group based at the BIH Centre for Regenerative Therapies employs human stem cells to generate cells with a clinical interest for disease modeling and cell-based therapy.

Dr. Joanne Mountford

Formerly at the University of Glasgow

Dr. Joanne Mountford specializes in translational processes and focuses on the development of stem cell-based technologies and regenerative medicine. She is an Honorary Professor at Heriot-Watt University, holds an Honorary Associate Professorship at the University of Glasgow, and is currently the Head of Cellular Therapeutics at the SNBTS Jack Copland Centre in Edinburgh. The SNBTS Cell Therapy Group supports the development of different cell-based technologies and cellular therapies with a particular focus on developing, translating, and manufacturing clinical-grade cellular therapies according to Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). Dr. Joanne Mountford's academic interests are in the generation of mesodermal cell lineages for therapeutic use. This includes molecular and biochemical analyses, and the overall aim is to fully dissect key signaling events, transcriptional networks, and epigenetic changes that lead to effective differentiation into these lineages.

In this talk, Dr. Melanie Kardel is joined by Loren Ornelas and Dr. Dhruv Sareen from the Cedars-Sinai Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell (iPSC) Core. This talk features an overview of mTeSR Plus and core services, highlights key collaborations, and describes the core facilitys experience with mTeSR Plus, including cell line transition and quality control.

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Depending on your research goals, you may need to generate large numbers of hPSCs for your cell banks. In this free, on-demand course, our in-house PSC experts demonstrate how to safely and rapidly expand and scale up hPSCs in 3D suspension culture.

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Start your research confidently with a reliable source of healthy, high-quality induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the SCTi003-A cell line, certified by hPSCreg and compatible for use with TeSR and STEMdiff media.

Quickly and cost-effectively detect the 8 most common karyotypic abnormalities reported in hPSCs.

Find answers to frequently asked questions about iPSC lines from STEMCELL.

Achieve high thawing efficiencies by preserving your human ESCs and iPSCs using mFreSR, a serum-free freezing medium compatible with mTeSR1, TeSR2, and mTeSR Plus.

Provide your cells and tissues with a safe, protective environment during freezing, thawing, and storage with CryoStor CS10.

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Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Banking