Derivation and Growing Human Embryonic Stem Cells on Feeders

¹ Center for Developmental Biology, Xinhua Hospital, Shanghai Second Medical University
² Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences
³ IVF Center of Women's Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: hzsheng{at}sh163.sta.net.cn.

	Abstract

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells 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 hES cells, cells differentiated from hES cells may also be able to support the growth of themselves. We tested this hypothesis by growing human ES cells on feeders derived from themselves and demonstrated that such feeders did constitute an environment suitable for the derivation and long term growth of hES cells. hES cells 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 hES cells, feeders with special features can be derived and mass produced. The system will facilitate large scale production of hES cells in a standardized, animal pathogen-free environment.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Skottman and O. Hovatta Culture conditions for human embryonic stem cells. Reproduction, November 1, 2006; 132(5): 691 - 698. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. Trounson The Production and Directed Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells Endocr. Rev., April 1, 2006; 27(2): 208 - 219. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]