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EXPERIMENTAL PROTOCOLS FOR EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH

Derivation and Growing Human Embryonic Stem Cells on Feeders Derived from Themselves

^a Center for Developmental Biology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai, P.R. China;
^b Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, P.R. China;
^c IVF Center of Women’s Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Zhejiang, P.R. China

Key Words. Human embryonic stem cells • Feeder

Correspondence: Hui Z. Sheng, M.D., Ph.D., Center for Developmental Biology, 1665 Kong Jiang Road, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Second Medical University, Shanghai 200092, P.R. China. Telephone: 86-21-55570017; Fax: 86-21-55570017; e-mail: hzsheng{at}sh163.sta.net.cn

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are pluripotent. They have the potential to differentiate into every cell type of an organism. Since many human somatic cell types have the ability to support the growth of hESCs, cells differentiated from hESCs may also be able to support the growth of themselves. We tested this hypothesis by growing hESCs on feeders derived from themselves and demonstrated that such feeders did constitute an environment suitable for the derivation and long-term growth of hESCs. hESCs maintained in this system expressed all the markers indicative of the undifferentiated state and gave rise to cell types representative of all three primary germ layers upon differentiation. By modifying the genome of hESCs, feeders with special features can be derived and mass produced. The system will facilitate large-scale production of hESCs in a standardized animal pathogen-free environment.

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