Stem Cells

Cancer stem cells – friend or foe in the fight against cancer?

25/06/2015 By Ana Arraztio Leave a Comment

Today, following our series on Tumour Microenvironment (TME), and leading on from three recent publications, let’s discuss Cancer Stem Cells (CSCs).

CSCs are part of the TME, as they reside in niches where they can survive from immune surveillance, maintain plasticity and facilitate cancer metastasis (1). They can also circulate around the body. Which makes them so interesting. Their worse effect is that they can expand cancer to other organs in the body, thus helping metastasic. The good thing is that their early detection is a very powerful biomarker for cancer, allowing an early treatment. [Read more…]

Formation of Mesenchymal Tissues in Alvetex® Scaffold

02/04/2015 By Jean-François Têtu, PhD Leave a Comment

The� Alvetex^®Scaffold is a novel substrate that enables a solution for simple and routine 3D culture. It is composed of a highly porous polystyrene scaffold that has been engineered into a 200 micron thick membrane to enable entry of cells and efficient exchange of gases and solutes. Cells enter the fabric of the scaffold, retain their natural 3D structure, and form close 3D interactions with adjacent cells. Unlike conventional 2D culture, cells in Alvetex^®Scaffold do not grow as monolayers and do not undergo the flattened shape transition that can result in aberrant changes to gene and protein expression and consequently cellular function.

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are adherent multipotent cells derived from tissue such as bone marrow and which possess the ability to differentiate in vitro into a number of tissue types including bone, cartilage and muscle [1].

In this post, we demonstrate that MSCs extracted from the bone marrow of adult rats can be successfully cultured in 3D in Alvetex^®Scaffold and induced to differentiate into osteogenic and adipogenic derivatives more efficiently than their 2D counterparts. We also report bone formation and the production of extracellular matrix by MG63 cells which represent an established cell line derived from a human osteosarcoma. The data generated here is supported by peer-reviewed literature [2,3] and clearly shows that Alvetex^®Scaffold promotes enhanced in vitro differentiation. [Read more…]

Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts Troubleshooting Guide

07/01/2015 By Jean-François Têtu, PhD 2 Comments

Mouse Embryonic Fibroblasts (MEFs) are critical biological reagents in stem cell research. Used as “feeder cells” to maintain Embryonic Stem (ES) cells and induced Pluripotent Stem (iPS), the quality of MEFs strongly influences Stem cell culture conditions, and may react differently depending on culture conditions. In parallel, MEFs can also be reprogrammed into a variety of more mature differentiated functional cell types (cardiomyocytes, neurons…). During daily discussions with Stem cell biologists, I have been able to collect Frequently Asked Questions and technical tips related to MEFs.

[Read more…]

5 most popular posts in Stem Cells in 2015

06/01/2015 By Jean-François Têtu, PhD Leave a Comment

Following on from the 5 most popular posts in Cell Sourcing, today let’s look back at the 5 most visited blog posts in 2014 in the field of stem cells.

#1 – Induced pluripotent neural stem cells in screening assay

Introducing Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells as a promising option for researchers creating in vitro models for the study of neurodegenerative diseases. We also highlight the benefits of using human iPS-derived neural cells vs. rodent primary neural cells.

#2 – Cost-effective serum replacer for stem cell culture!

FBS is an inherently variable component of the cell culture system, so consistent performance demands extensive screening of manufactured lots. To circumvent this problem, companies began offering “stem cell qualified” serum… discover more in this post!

#3 – mRNA reprogramming system: fastest & safest!

Early reprogramming methods utilized retroviral (including lentiviral) vectors to introduce reprogramming-associated transcription factors to the target cells. While these pioneering experiments provided a fundamental proof-of-concept, these vectors required the integration of heritable viral DNA sequence into the host cell’s genome… Discover the benefits of a new mRNA reprogramming system!

#4 – Recent advances in Stem Cell culture: Encapsulated Stembeads growth factors

How can I optimise my media to cultivate Stem cells with stable and cost-effective Stem Cell Factors? Find all the answers in this post!

#5 -Isogenic Knockout iPSC Lines for Modeling of CNS Disorders

Knockout iPSC lines that mimic loss of function of genes associated with various CNS disorders as novel tools for controlled experiments to decipher functionality of each disease‐associated gene, and thus the mechanism underlying the disease.

We hope you found these posts of interest, stay up to date in 2015 by following our future articles!

Cost-effective serum replacer for stem cell culture!

11/12/2014 By Jean-François Têtu, PhD Leave a Comment

Traditionally, Fetal Bovine Serum (FBS) has been used as an additive to cell culture media for the in vitro growth of pluripotent stem cells. FBS is an inherently variable component of the cell culture system, so consistent performance demands extensive screening of manufactured lots. To circumvent this problem, companies began offering “stem cell qualified” serum. One issue with this solution is that the qualification is not always performed on a stem cell line relevant to the researcher’s own cell lines. Years later, researchers began using Life Technologies Knockout® Serum Replacement (KOSR) to grow and maintain undifferentiated human embryonic stem (ES) cells in culture. While KOSR has shown to be more stable than FBS and performs better in maintaining undifferentiated ES and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, it is expensive and many researchers are today looking for a more cost effective media solution for their pluripotent stem cell culture. To address this need in the scientific community, GlobalStem now offers a more economical solution with their new PluriQ™ Serum Replacement. [Read more…]

Cell reprogramming strategies for Stem cell research & cell sourcing

05/08/2014 By Philippe Fixe, PhD Leave a Comment

Cellular reprogramming is a process by which a fully differentiated cell type with specialized functions, is brought to be transformed into another cell type. This reprogrammed cell type exhibits different characteristics and functions it would not display initially under normal physiological conditions.

[Read more…]

Recent advances in Stem Cell culture: Encapsulated Stembeads growth factors

06/06/2014 By Jean-François Têtu, PhD Leave a Comment

During my daily discussions with researchers involved in in vitro iPS and Embryonic Stem cell cultures, I am always amazed by the passion that drives them. However, the more I go in depth with them in their protocols to optimize them, the more I realize that “time and money” are very tricky points when cultivating these cells. This can be summarized by a simple question: How can I optimise my media to cultivate Stem cells with stable and cost-effective Stem Cell Factors?

[Read more…]