无饲养层培养人胚胎干细胞方法的建立

人胚胎干细胞(human embryonic stem cell,hES细胞)是当前医学研究的热点之一．然而hES细胞培养条件苛刻,通常需要采用鼠胚胎成纤维细胞(mouse embryonic fibroblast,MEFs)饲养层来维持其未分化状态,成为目前hES细胞研究的瓶颈之一、本实验成功地将hES细胞接种在细胞外基质包被的六孔板上培养,传代20次后细胞仍然保持良好的未分化状态,各种hES细胞生物学特性(如表面标志物SSEA-3、SSEA-4、TRA-1-60和TRA-1-8l,OCT-4,碱性磷酸酶及体内外分化潜能等)均无改变;其冻存、复苏效果与生长在饲养层上的hES细胞无明显差异．因此,该无饲养层培养体系可以用于培养hES细胞,并为hES细胞转基因研究及大规模培养打下良好的基础．     

人胚胎干细胞建系的研究进展

人胚胎干细胞(human embryonic stem cells,h ESCs)具有自我更新和分化的潜能,自成功建立细胞系以来学者们一直在改进建系方法和培养体系,如避免异源污染(基质胶的研究、无饲养层和无血清培养体系的研究等)以建立优质的细胞系,获得更高全能性的干细胞(采用不同小分子的组合培养干细胞或建系),这些研究已经取得巨大成果。现通过胚胎来源、内细胞团(inner cell mass,ICM)分离、h ESCs培养体系3个方面综述h ESCs建系的研究进展。     

无饲养层和动物源蛋白的β-地中海贫血诱导多能干细胞系的建立

β-地中海贫血患者因无合适的造血干细胞供体来源从而不得不靠输血维持生命。诱导多能干细胞(iPS)技术为获得患者自身遗传背景的干细胞进行临床治疗开拓了新途径。目前,建立iPS细胞系的过程需要使用小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞作为饲养层和动物源的蛋白成分,因此建立的iPS细胞系存在病原体和动物源蛋白污染的可能性,不能应用于临床。采用目前商品化的TeSRTM2和StemAdhereTMDefined Matrix限定培养体系,利用Oct4、Sox2、Klf4、c-Myc 4个转录因子组装在同一表达载体的可切除的慢病毒感染人β-地中海贫血成纤维细胞,建立了5株无饲养层和动物源蛋白的β-地中海贫血iPS细胞系,这些iPS细胞系具有人胚胎干细胞典型的特征,表达人胚胎干细胞的多能性分子标记,如Oct4、Nanog、Tra-1-60等。在体外分化能够形成拟胚体,在体内分化能够形成含有3个胚层类型细胞的畸胎瘤。     

人胚胎干细胞在3种培养体系中的生长

人胚胎干细胞(human embryonic stem cells.hESCs)的培养一直是干细胞研究的重要内容.用本实验室独立建系的两株hESCs,建立3种不同的培养体系:小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞(mouse embryonic fibroblasts,MEFs)做饲养层,永生化人成纤维细胞(immortalized human adult fibroblasts,HAFi)做饲养层,无饲养层条件培养基培养体系(condition medium,CM),观察在3种培养体系中,干细胞的增殖和分化情况.发现3种培养体系中的hESCs都可以表达一致的生物学特性,但也有不同之处,相对于CM干细胞在MEFs和HAFi饲养层体系的分化率低,增殖快;但MEFs来源于鼠类是异源细胞,HAFi虽不舍鼠源性成分却繁殖很慢;无饲养层的体系便于操作,无外源细胞存在.实验所得出的结果可以引导研究人员针对于临床、科研不同的需要,选择最适合的培养体系.     

小鼠原生殖细胞建系过程及其分化特性的研究

以小鼠8.5dpc、10.5dpc、12.5dpc胚胎为材料,分离其中包含PGC的胚胎组织,使其生长于饲养层细胞上,在生长因子LIF、SCF和bFGF的共同作用下存活增殖,形成PGC克隆,经过几次分散转移至新的饲养层细胞,产生稳定增殖的EG干细胞克隆,共建成5株EG细胞系,AKP染色以及oct-4基因表达产物的免疫荧光检测均显示阳性。EG1、EG2、EG3、EG4、EG5,分别来自8.5、10.5dpc的胚胎,没有得到长期培养的12.5dpc的EG细胞系。EG细胞系在有饲养层细胞或添加LIF的环境中可稳定传代,保持不分化状态,至少15代内正常核型细胞所占比例80%以上。去除抑制分化因素的前提下,悬浮培养的EG细胞形成胚体,分化出类似胚胎内胚层和外胚层的细胞结构;贴壁生长的胚体能产生不同类型的分化细胞,包括上皮细胞、成纤维细胞、神经细胞等。EG细胞在裸鼠体内形成畸胎瘤。以上结果证实我们建立的EG细胞系具发育多能性,为研究早期胚胎和生殖细胞生长分化提供了模型。     

人胚胎干细胞培养建系及其应用

简要概述了自1998年首次建立hES细胞系以来近6－7年国内外的现况、分离培养建系、鉴定标准和冻存技术发展、定向诱导分化及其应用等方面的研究进展。     

人胚胎干细胞的体外定向分化

人胚胎干细胞（human embryonic stem cells,hESCs）由囊胚期胚胎内细胞团分离培养获得,具有保持未分化状态的无限增殖能力。hESCs具有多向分化潜能,在体内和体外均可分化形成所有三个胚层（外胚层、中胚层、内胚层）的衍生物。hESCs一般在鼠胚胎成纤维细胞（mouse embryonic fibroblast,MEF）饲养层上培养和扩增。为了优化培养条件,目前人们已发展了多种人类细胞饲养层和无饲养层、非条件培养基体系。hESCs可以在体外定向诱导分化为多种细胞类型,为揭示人胚早期发育机制和发展多种疾病的细胞移植治疗奠定了基础。hESCs可以在体外进行遗传修饰,将有助于揭示特定基因在发育过程中的调控和功能。对hESCs的深入研究将极大地推动医学和生命科学的进展,并将最终应用于临床,造福人类。     

鸡胚胎生殖细胞在鼠胚成纤维细胞饲养层上的生长

目的:探讨以鼠胚成纤维细胞为饲养层分离、培养鸡胚胎生殖细胞的方法和条件。方法:分离、培养12.5～13.5d鼠胚成纤维细胞。分离孵化5.5d鸡胚原始生殖细胞,原代培养时不使用饲养层,与性腺基质细胞共培养;继代培养时将其置于鼠胚成纤维细胞饲养层上,在含生长因子、分化抑制因子的培养体系中培养胚胎生殖细胞。结果:鼠胚成纤维细胞可连续传代18代以上(4个月),3～15代细胞可以用作饲养层细胞。分离的鸡胚胎生殖细胞在饲养层上可增殖形成典型胚胎生殖细胞集落,并能连续在体外培养超过9代。集落未分化标志高碘酸希夫反应(PAS)呈强阳性,体外分化实验表明胚胎生殖细胞具有多能性。结论:用鼠胚成纤维细胞作为饲养层能获得可连续增殖的胚胎生殖细胞。     

国外动态

源自人核移植胚泡的患者特异性胚胎干细胞韩国汉城国立大学教授Woo Suk Hwang等于2005年5月19日在《Science》网络版上(doi:10.1126/science.1112286)发布了他们的最新研究成果:将患者的表皮细胞核移植入她人捐赠的卵母细胞中,从而获得11株人胚胎干细胞系。不管是生长于患者来源的人饲养层,还是生长于无任何遗传关系的人饲养层,这些细胞系的建系率都很高,且建系率与核移植供体的性别和年龄无关。检测表明,核移植的人胚胎干细胞系具有多能性,染色体型正常,不仅与核移植患者的DNA相匹配,而且每个细胞系的主要组织相容性复合物与患者的具有…     

建立小鼠胚胎多能干细胞系（ES细胞系）的几个主要影响因素

本文系统地比较了影响建立小鼠胚胎多能干细胞系的几个主要因素。对825个胚的实验进行了分析,其结果表明:延迟囊胚的主要作用是有助于内细胞团(ICM)的增殖;高糖的DMEM有助于囊胚贴壁及ICM的增殖;不含丙酮酸钠的DMEM对ES细胞的集落形成和生长是有利的;饲养层对ES细胞的建系和培养是十分重要的,以新鲜制备的原代小鼠胚胎成纤维细胞作为饲养层对ES细胞的生长有明显的促进作用。     

Derivation and feeder-free propagation of human embryonic stem cells under xeno-free conditions

BACKGROUND AIMS: Human embryonic stem (hES) cells hold great potential for cell therapy and regenerative medicine because of their pluripotency and capacity for self-renewal. The conditions used to derive and culture hES cells vary between and within laboratories depending on the desired use of the cells. Until recently, stem cell culture has been carried out using feeder cells, and culture media, that contain animal products. Recent advances in technology have opened up the possibility of both xeno-free and feeder-free culture of stem cells, essential conditions for the use of stem cells for clinical purposes. To date, however, there has been limited success in achieving this aim. METHODS, RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Protocols were developed for the successful derivation of two normal and three specific mutation-carrying (SMC) (Huntington's disease and myotonic dystrophy 1) genomically stable hES cell lines, and their adaptation to feeder-free culture, all under xeno-free conditions.     

Human fetal liver stromal cells that overexpress bFGF support growth and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells

In guiding hES cell technology toward the clinic, one key issue to be addressed is to culture and maintain hES cells much more safely and economically in large scale. In order to avoid using mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) we isolated human fetal liver stromal cells (hFLSCs) from 14 weeks human fetal liver as new human feeder cells. hFLSCs feeders could maintain hES cells for 15 passages (about 100 days). Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is known to play an important role in promoting self-renewal of human embryonic stem (hES) cells. So, we established transgenic hFLSCs that stably express bFGF by lentiviral vectors. These transgenic human feeder cells--bFGF-hFLSCs maintained the properties of H9 hES cells without supplementing with any exogenous growth factors. H9 hES cells culturing under these conditions maintained all hES cell features after prolonged culture, including the developmental potential to differentiate into representative tissues of all three embryonic germ layers, unlimited and undifferentiated proliferative ability, and maintenance of normal karyotype. Our results demonstrated that bFGF-hFLSCs feeder cells were central to establishing the signaling network among bFGF, insulin-like growth factor 2 (IGF-2), and transforming growth factor β (TGF-β), thereby providing the framework in which hES cells were instructed to self-renew or to differentiate. We also found that the conditioned medium of bFGF-hFLSCs could maintain the H9 hES cells under feeder-free conditions without supplementing with bFGF. Taken together, bFGF-hFLSCs had great potential as feeders for maintaining pluripotent hES cell lines more safely and economically.     

The establishment of 20 different human embryonic stem cell lines and subclones; a report on derivation, culture, characterisation and banking

This report summarises our efforts in deriving, characterising and banking of 20 different human embryonic stem cell lines. We have derived a large number of human embryonic stem cell lines between 2001 and 2005. One of these cell lines was established under totally xeno-free culture conditions. In addition, several subclones have been established, including a karyoptypical normal clone from a trisomic mother line. A master cell banking system has been utilised in concert with an extensive characterisation programme, ensuring a supply of high quality pluripotent stem cells for further research and development. In this report we also present the first data on a proprietary novel antibody, hES-Cellect, that exhibits high specificity for undifferentiated hES cells. In addition to the traditional manual dissection approach of propagating hES cells, we here also report on the successful approaches of feeder-free cultures as well as single cell cultures based on enzymatic digestion. All culture systems used as reported here have maintained the hES cells in a karyotypical normal and pluripotent state. These systems also have the advantage of being the principal springboards for further scale up of cultures for industrial or clinical applications that would require vastly more cells that can be produced by mechanical means.     

Feeder-free growth of undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells

Previous studies have shown that maintenance of undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells requires culture on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeders. Here we demonstrate a successful feeder-free hES culture system in which undifferentiated cells can be maintained for at least 130 population doublings. In this system, hES cells are cultured on Matrigel or laminin in medium conditioned by MEF. The hES cells maintained on feeders or off feeders express integrin alpha6 and beta1, which may form a laminin-specific receptor. The hES cell populations in feeder-free conditions maintained a normal karyotype, stable proliferation rate, and high telomerase activity. Similar to cells cultured on feeders, hES cells maintained under feeder-free conditions expressed OCT-4, hTERT, alkaline phosphatase, and surface markers including SSEA-4, Tra 1-60, and Tra 1-81. In addition, hES cells maintained without direct feeder contact formed teratomas in SCID/beige mice and differentiated in vitro into cells from all three germ layers. Thus, the cells retain fundamental characteristics of hES cells in this culture system and are suitable for scaleup production.     

Highly efficient mRNA-based gene transfer in feeder-free cultured H9 human embryonic stem cells

Several protocols have been described for virus-based gene transfer in human embryonic stem (hES) cells, while efficient non-viral methods are currently non-existing. In this study, we investigated the efficiency of mRNA-based gene transfer in feeder-free cultured H9 hES cells, based on electroporation of in vitro transcribed mRNA encoding the enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP). Optimisation of culture and electroporation conditions for feeder-free cultured H9 hES cells resulted a highly pure, transgene-expressing (90% positive cells) H9 hES cell population.     

Adaptation of human embryonic stem cells to feeder-free and matrix-free culture conditions directly on plastic surfaces

Previous studies have shown that cultivation of undifferentiated human embryonic stem (hES) cells requires human fibroblasts (hF) or mouse embryonic fibroblast (mEF) feeders or a coating matrix such as laminin, fibronectin or Matrigel in combination with mEF or hF conditioned medium. We here demonstrate a successful feeder-free and matrix-free culture system in which undifferentiated hES cells can be cultured directly on plastic surfaces without any supportive coating, in a hF conditioned medium. The hES cells cultured directly on plastic surfaces grow as colonies with morphology very similar to cells cultured on Matrigel(TM). Two hES cell lines SA167 and AS034.1 were adapted to matrix-free growth (MFG) and have so far been cultured up to 43 passages and cryopreserved successfully. The lines maintained a normal karyotype and expressed the expected marker profile of undifferentiated hES cells for Oct-4, SSEA-3, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81 and SSEA-1. The hES cells formed teratomas in SCID mice and differentiated in vitro into derivates of all three germ layers. Thus, the MFG-adapted hES cells appear to retain pluripotency and to remain undifferentiated. The present culture system has a clear potential to be scaleable up to a manufacturing level and become the preferred culture system for various applications such as cell therapy and toxicity testing.     

Noggin and bFGF cooperate to maintain the pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells in the absence of feeder layers

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are typically maintained on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) feeders or with MEF-conditioned medium. However, these xenosupport systems greatly limit the therapeutic applications of hES cells because of the risk of cross-transfer of animal pathogens. Here we showed that the bone morphogenetic protein antagonist noggin is critical in preventing differentiation of hES cells in culture. Furthermore, we found that the combination of noggin and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) was sufficient to maintain the prolonged growth of hES cells while retaining all hES cell features. Since both noggin and bFGF are expressed in MEF, our findings suggest that they may be important factors secreted by MEF for maintaining undifferentiated pluripotent hES cells. Our data provide new insight into the mechanism how hES cell self-renewal is regulated. The newly developed feeder-free culture system will provide a more reliable alternative for future therapeutic applications of hES cells.     

Efficient derivation of Chinese human embryonic stem cell lines from frozen embryos

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are pluripotent cells derived from the inner cell mass of blastocysts. Their unique properties of self-renewal and pluripotency make them an attractive tool for basic research as well as a potential cell resource for therapy. However, each hES cell line demonstrates different identity. It is desirable to obtain more fully characterized hES cell lines with newly developed technologies associated with hES cell culture. Here, we report our experience of efficient derivation of three new Chinese hES cell lines (SHhES2, SHhES3, and SHhES4) from in vitro fertilization discarded embryos donated by women with polycystic ovary syndrome. These cell lines were derived under conditions minimizing exposure to animal components and maintained at an undifferentiated state for long-term culture. They retained a normal karyotype and expressed ALP, OCT4, SOX2, SSEA-4, TRA-1-60 and TRA-1-81. RT-PCR analysis also revealed high expression levels of pluripotency markers such as OCT4, LEFTY A, SOX2, TDGF-1, THY1, FGF4, NANOG, and REX1. When suspended in low-attachment culture dishes, embryoid bodies formed and were comprised of various differentiated cell types from all three embryonic germ layers. However, well-shaped teratomas were only harvested from line SHhES2, not from SHhES3 and SHhES4, indicating that the differentiation ability in vivo differs among the three cell lines. Collectively, the three new hES cell lines were established and fully characterized. The effort paves the way toward generating hES cell lines without contamination by animal components. All of these cell lines are available by contact Ying Jin at yjin@sibs.ac.cn.     

Derivation and propagation of human embryonic stem cell lines from frozen embryos in an animal product-free environment

The protocols described here are comprehensive instructions for deriving human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines in xeno-free conditions from cryopreserved embryos. Details are included for propagation, cryopreservation and characterization. Initial derivation is on feeder cells and is followed by adaptation to a feeder-free environment; competent technicians can perform these simplified methods easily. From derivation to cryopreservation of fully characterized initial stocks takes 3-4 months. These protocols served as the basis for standard operating procedures (SOPs), with both operational and technical components, that we set to meet good manufacturing practice (GMP) and UK regulatory body requirements for derivation of clinical-grade cells. As such, these SOPs are currently used in our current GMP compliant facility to derive hES cell lines ab initio, in an animal product-free environment; these lines are suitable for research and potentially for clinical use in cell therapy. So far, we have derived eight clinical-grade lines, which will be freely available to the scientific community after submission/accession to the UK Stem Cell Bank.     

Establishment and maintenance of human embryonic stem cell lines on human feeder cells derived from uterine endometrium under serum-free condition

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are usually established and maintained on mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEFs) feeder layers. However, it is desirable to develop human feeder cells because animal feeder cells are associated with risks such as viral infection and/or pathogen transmission. In this study, we attempted to establish new hES cell lines using human uterine endometrial cells (hUECs) to prevent the risks associated with animal feeder cells and for their eventual application in cell-replacement therapy. Inner cell masses (ICMs) of cultured blastocysts were isolated by immunosurgery and then cultured on mitotically inactivated hUEC feeder layers. Cultured ICMs formed colonies by continuous proliferation and were allowed to proliferate continuously for 40, 50, and 55 passages. The established hES cell lines (Miz-hES-14, -15, and -9, respectively) exhibited typical hES cells characteristics, including continuous growth, expression of specific markers, normal karyotypes, and differentiation capacity. The hUEC feeders have the advantage that they can be used for many passages, whereas MEF feeder cells can only be used as feeder cells for a limited number of passages. The hUECs are available to establish and maintain hES cells, and the high expression of embryotrophic factors and extracellular matrices by hUECs may be important to the efficient growth of hES cells. Clinical applications require the establishment and expansion of hES cells under stable xeno-free culture systems.