This work has been supported by the Austrian Research Foundation (FWF, grant N211-NAN to DS) and the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG, grant N200 to DS). The authors thank Claudia Url for excellent technical assistance and Monica Farrell for linguistic editing.

1. Starting material
Start with platelet rich plasma (PRP) units prepared by cytapheresis or derived from buffy coats.
2. Sterility check
For sterility check take a sample of 20 mL from each PRP unit by transferring the volume to a connected small bag (Baxter). Disconnect this bag by welding.
3. Freezing of PRP units
Immediately after preparation, freeze the PRP units down to at least -20&deg;C in the original storage bag without further manipulation.
4. Thawing of HPL units
When bacterial tests are negative, thaw human platelet lysate units, now called HPL units at 37&deg;C (water bath) until the ice clots disappear. Do not warm the HPL.
5. Pooling of HPL units
Take at least ten to fifteen thawed HPL units for one platelet lysate pool to prepare a standardized product. Connect the HPL bags consecutively to the pooling double bag (MacoPharma) and transfer the HPL into these two bags. Disconnect the empty HPL bags by welding. Get a final volume of 3 to 4 L of pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) by mixing the content of the two bags. Connect a small bag (Baxter) and take a sample of 20 mL pHPL for sterility check of the pooled product. Disconnect this bag by welding.
6. Portioning of the pHPL
Portion the pHPL to get suitable aliquots for further processing. Connect small bags (Baxter) to the pooling double bag (Macopharma) and transfer volumes of up to 250 mL to the small storage bags (Baxter). Disconnect the filled bags by welding.
7. Re-freezing of the pHPL aliquots
Increase the rate of platelet fragmentation and the amount of released growth factors by a further freeze/thaw step. Freeze the small bags of portioned pHPL again at least -20&deg;C.
8. Re-thawing and portioning of the pHPL aliquots
Thaw the pHPL bags at 37&deg;C (water bath). Transfer the content into 50 mL vials (Falcons BD) by cutting the tube of the bag using sterile scissors and pouring the pHPL into the vials. Perform this step in a laminar flow bench to avoid bacterial or fungal contamination.
9. Removal of platelet fragments
As platelet fragments tend to aggregate and may induce alloimmunization, remove them from the pHPL. Centrifuge the pHPL vials therefore at 4,000g (15 minutes, 4&deg;C). In a laminar flow bench pipette the supernatant plasma into the final storage vials (Falcons BD) and discard the platelet pellets to avoid fragments in cell culture.
10. Storage of pHPL
Freeze aliquots of 50 mL pHPL vials again at least-20&deg;C and store them for experimental use.
11. Use of pHPL in cell culture
Initially add preservative-free heparin to the medium to avoid gel formation. Thaw a pHPL aliquot at 37&deg;C and supplement the culture medium by addition of 8 &#x2013; 10%.
Mediums
MSC-Medium:
Use 500 mL of a-MEM, add 56 mL of thawed pHPL (see also reference 1 for further details) and 2 IU/mL (=224 &mu;l of stock solution) of preservative-free Heparin (avoids coagulation of the medium through clumping of the fibrinogen in the plasma) to reach a final concentration of 10% pHPL. Additionally add Penicillin (100U/mL) /Streptomycin (100&mu;g/mL) solution and 2mM of L-Glutamin (both Sigma).
Filter the medium through a 20 &mu;m-pore size vacuum filter (Millipore). Label the bottle appropriately (content, date).
ECFC-Medium:
Use one bottle (500 mL) of EBM, add the cytokine-aliquots, 56 mL of pHPL, 10 IU/ml (=1120&mu;l of stock solution) of preservative-free Heparin, Penicillin (100U/mL) /Streptomycin (100 g/mL) solution and 2mM of L-Glutamin to the basal medium and filter with a 20 &mu;l-pore size vacuum filter (Millipore). Label the bottle appropriately (content, date).
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1523/1523fig1.jpg" alt="Figure 1" /> Figure 1:Preparation of platelet-rich plasma from a whole blood donation from a local blood bank or any other authorized provider. After centrifugation the blood can be separated into plasma, buffy coat and red blood cells. Four buffy coat units, blood group O and one blood group AB plasma can be pooled before centrifugation to separate the platelet rich plasma. A regular quality platelet-rich plasma unit of approximately 300mL should contain 1x109 platelets per mL or 3x1011 platelets total.
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1523/1523fig2.jpg" alt="Figure 2" />
<img src="/files/ftp_upload/1523/1523fig3.jpg" alt="Figure 3" />

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In some regions platelet rich plasma (PRP) may be obtained from buffy-coats otherwise being a waste product of packed red blood cell production from tested blood donations (Figure 1). Optimally, PRP is used immediately for further preparation of pHPL, as in outdated platelet concentrates the availability of growth factors may be reduced due to platelet storage lesions and degradation20. It is further recommended to produce PRP by matching platelets of blood group O with plasma of blood group AB to avoid possib...

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		<div>
		<table border="1">
		<thead>
		<tr>
		<th>Material Name</th>
		<th>Type</th>
		<th>Company</th>
		<th>Catalogue Number</th>
		<th>Comment</th>
		</tr>
		</thead>
		<tbody>
		
<tr>
<td>Double bag (2 x 3.5L)</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>MacoPharma</td>
<td>VDL 8000XQ</td>
<td>originally for ascites puncture</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td>50 mL Falcon tube</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Falcon BD</td>
<td>2098</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>50 mL Stripettes</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Costar</td>
<td>4501</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Plasma bags (600mL)</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Baxter</td>
<td>R4R2021</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Sterile tubing welder</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Terumo</td>
<td>TSCD-II</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Welding equipment </td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>Fresenius Kabi</td>
<td>Compo Seal</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Water bath</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Sterile scissors</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Clamps</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<tr>
<td>Centrifuge</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>
<td>&nbsp;</td>		</tbody>
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preparation of pooled human platelet lysate (phpl) as an efficient supplement for animal serum-free human stem cell cultures

Platelet derived growth factors have been shown to stimulate cell proliferation efficiently in vivo1,2 and in vitro. This effect has been reported for mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs), fibroblasts and endothelial colony-forming cells with platelets activated by thrombin3-5 or lysed by freeze/thaw cycles6-14 before the platelet releasate is added to the cell culture medium. The trophic effect of platelet derived growth factors has already been tested in several trials for tissue engineering and regenerative therapy.1,15-17 Varying efficiency is considered to be at least in part due to individually divergent concentrations of growth factors18,19 and a current lack of standardized protocols for platelet preparation.15,16 This protocol presents a practicable procedure to generate a pool of human platelet lysate (pHPL) derived from routinely produced platelet rich plasma (PRP) of forty to fifty single blood donations. By several freeze/thaw cycles the platelet membranes are damaged and growth factors are efficiently released into the plasma. Finally, the platelet fragments are removed by centrifugation to avoid extensive aggregate formation and deplete potential antigens. The implementation of pHPL into standard culture protocols represents a promising tool for further development of cell therapeutics propagated in an animal protein-free system.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Preparation of Pooled Human Platelet Lysate pHPL as an Efficient Supplement for Animal Serum-Free Human Stem Cell Cultures at JoVE.com

Preparation of Pooled Human Platelet Lysate pHPL as an Efficient Supplement for Animal Serum-Free Human Stem Cell Cultures

Human platelet lysate is a rich source of growth factors and a potent supplement in cell culture. This protocol presents the process of preparing a large pool of human platelet lysate by starting from platelet rich plasma, performing several freeze-thaw cycles and depleting the platelet fragments.

Preparation of Pooled Human Platelet Lysate (pHPL) as an Efficient Supplement for Animal Serum-Free Human Stem Cell Cultures

Platelet derived growth factors have been shown to stimulate cell proliferation efficiently in vivo1,2 and in vitro. This effect has been reported for ...

preparation-pooled-human-platelet-lysate-phpl-as-an-efficient

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25.1K Views.  Medical University of Graz, Austria. Human platelet lysate is a rich source of growth factors and a potent supplement in cell culture. This protocol presents the process of preparing a large pool of human platelet lysate by starting from platelet rich plasma, performing several freeze-thaw cycles and depleting the platelet fragments.

Video: Preparation of Pooled Human Platelet Lysate pHPL as an Efficient Supplement for Animal Serum-Free Human Stem Cell Cultures

Mouse Epidermal Neural Crest Stem Cell (EPI-NCSC) Cultures

EPI-NCSC are remnants of the embryonic neural crest in an adult location, the bulge of hair follicles. They are multipotent stem cells that have the physiological property to generate a wide array of differentiated cell types, including neurons, nerve supporting cells, smooth muscle cells, bone/cartilage cells and melanocytes. EPI-NCSC are easily accessible in the hairy skin and can be isolated as a highly pure population of stem cells. This video provides a detailed protocol for preparing mouse EPI-NCSC cultures from whisker follicles. The whisker pad of an adult mouse is removed, and whisker follicles dissected. The follicles are then cut longitudinally and subsequently transversely above and below the bulge region. The bulge is removed from the collagen capsule and placed in a culture plate. EPI-NCSC start to emigrate from the bulge explants 3 to 4 days later.

Mouse Epidermal Neural Crest Stem Cell EPI-NCSC Cultures

Here we show our method to isolate mouse epidermal neural crest stem cells (EPI-NCSC). Technique involves micro-dissecting whisker follicles, isolating the bulge and placeing it into tissue culture. EPI-NCSC start to emigrate from bulge explants onto the substratum within 3 - 4 days.

EPI-NCSC are remnants of the embryonic neural crest in an adult location, the bulge of hair follicles. They are multipotent stem cells that have the ...

Preparation of Aplysia Sensory-motor Neuronal Cell Cultures

The nervous system of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica is relatively simple, consisting of approximately 20,000 neurons. The neurons are large (up to 1 mm in diameter) and identifiable, with distinct sizes, shapes, positions and pigmentations, and the cell bodies are externally exposed in five paired ganglia distributed throughout the body of the animal. These properties have allowed investigators to delineate the circuitry underlying specific behaviors in the animal1. The monosynaptic connection between sensory and motor neurons is a central component of the gill-withdrawal reflex in the animal, a simple defensive reflex in which the animal withdraws its gill in response to tactile stimulation of the siphon. This reflex undergoes forms of non-associative and associative learning, including sensitization, habituation and classical conditioning. Of particular benefit to the study of synaptic plasticity, the sensory-motor synapse can be reconstituted in culture, where well-characterized stimuli elicit forms of plasticity that have direct correlates in the behavior of the animal2,3. Specifically, application of serotonin produces a synaptic strengthening that, depending on the application protocol, lasts for minutes (short-term facilitation), hours (intermediate-term facilitation) or days (long-term facilitation). In contrast, application of the peptide transmitter FMRFamide produces a synaptic weakening or depression that, depending on the application protocol, can last from minutes to days (long-term depression). The large size of the neurons allows for repeated sharp electrode recording of synaptic strength over periods of days together with microinjection of expression vectors, siRNAs and other compounds to target specific signaling cascades and molecules and thereby identify the molecular and cell biological steps that underlie the changes in synaptic efficacy.
An additional advantage of the Aplysia culture system comes from the fact that the neurons demonstrate synapse-specificity in culture4,5. Thus, sensory neurons do not form synapses with themselves (autapses) or with other sensory neurons, nor do they form synapses with non-target identified motor neurons in culture. The varicosities, sites of synaptic contact between sensory and motor neurons, are large enough (2-7 microns in diameter) to allow synapse formation (as well as changes in synaptic morphology) with target motor neurons to be studied at the light microscopic level.
In this video, we demonstrate each step of preparing sensory-motor neuron cultures, including anesthetizing adult and juvenile Aplysia, dissecting their ganglia, protease digestion of the ganglia, removal of the connective tissue by microdissection, identification of both sensory and motor neurons and removal of each cell type by microdissection, plating of the motor neuron, addition of the sensory neuron and manipulation of the sensory neurite to form contact with the cultured motor neuron.

Preparation of Aplysia Sensory-motor Neuronal Cell Cultures

Primary cultures of Aplysia sensory-motor neurons provide a model preparation for studying synapse formation and synaptic plasticity in vitro. This video demonstrates the identification and microdissection of sensory and motor neurons from Aplysia ganglia as well as the methods for establishing and maintaining sensory-motor neurons in culture.

The nervous system of the marine mollusk Aplysia californica is relatively simple, consisting of approximately 20,000 neurons.  The neurons are large (up ...

Isolation and Animal Serum Free Expansion of Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) and Endothelial Colony Forming Progenitor Cells (ECFCs)

The umbilical cord is a rich source for progenitor cells with high proliferative potential including mesenchymal stromal cells (also termed mesenchymal stem cells, MSCs) and endothelial colony forming progenitor cells (ECFCs). Both cell types are key players in maintaining the integrity of tissue and are probably also involved in regenerative processes and tumor formation.
To study their biology and function in a comparative manner it is important to have both cells types available from the same donor. It may also be beneficial for regenerative purposes to derive MSCs and ECFCs from the same tissue.
Because cellular therapeutics should eventually find their way from bench to bedside we established a new method to isolate and further expand progenitor cells without the use of animal protein. Pooled human platelet lysate (pHPL) replaced fetal bovine serum in all steps of our protocol to completely avoid contact of the cells to xenogeneic proteins.
This video demonstrates a methodology for the isolation and expansion of progenitor cells from one umbilical cord.
All materials and procedures will be described.

Isolation and Animal Serum Free Expansion of Human Umbilical Cord Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells MSCs and Endothelial Colony Forming Progenitor Cells ECFCs

This protocol describes the isolation and subsequent expansion of mesenchymal stromal cells and endothelial colony forming cells without the use of animal serum to generate autologous pairs for experimental transplantation purposes.

The umbilical cord is a rich source for progenitor cells with high proliferative potential including mesenchymal stromal cells (also termed mesenchymal ...

Differentiation of Embryonic Stem Cells into Oligodendrocyte Precursors

Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the central nervous system. For regenerative cell therapy in demyelinating diseases, there is significant interest in deriving a pure population of lineage-committed oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) for transplantation. OPCs are characterized by the activity of the transcription factor Olig2 and surface expression of a proteoglycan NG2. Using the GFP-Olig2 (G-Olig2) mouse embryonic stem cell (mESC) reporter line, we optimized conditions for the differentiation of mESCs into GFP+Olig2+NG2+ OPCs. In our protocol, we first describe the generation of embryoid bodies (EBs) from mESCs. Second, we describe treatment of mESC-derived EBs with small molecules: (1) retinoic acid (RA) and (2) a sonic hedgehog (Shh) agonist purmorphamine (Pur) under defined culture conditions to direct EB differentiation into the oligodendroglial lineage. By this approach, OPCs can be obtained with high efficiency (&gt;80%) in a time period of 30 days. Cells derived from mESCs in this protocol are phenotypically similar to OPCs derived from primary tissue culture. The mESC-derived OPCs do not show the spiking property described for a subpopulation of brain OPCs in situ. To study this electrophysiological property, we describe the generation of spiking mESC-derived OPCs by ectopically expressing NaV1.2 subunit. The spiking and nonspiking cells obtained from this protocol will help advance functional studies on the two subpopulations of OPCs.

We describe a small molecule-based protocol for differentiation of mouse embryonic stem cells into oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs). This protocol generates Olig2+NG2+ OPCs with high efficiency by 30 days of differentiation. We also describe a method to generate "spiking" OPCs that can fire action potentials.

Oligodendrocytes are the myelinating cells of the central nervous system. For regenerative cell therapy in demyelinating diseases, there is significant ...

Efficient Derivation of Human Cardiac Precursors and Cardiomyocytes from Pluripotent Human Embryonic Stem Cells with Small Molecule Induction

To date, the lack of a suitable human cardiac cell source has been the major setback in regenerating the human myocardium, either by cell-based transplantation or by cardiac tissue engineering1-3. Cardiomyocytes become terminally-differentiated soon after birth and lose their ability to proliferate. There is no evidence that stem/progenitor cells derived from other sources, such as the bone marrow or the cord blood, are able to give rise to the contractile heart muscle cells following transplantation into the heart1-3. The need to regenerate or repair the damaged heart muscle has not been met by adult stem cell therapy, either endogenous or via cell delivery1-3. The genetically stable human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have unlimited expansion ability and unrestricted plasticity, proffering a pluripotent reservoir for in vitro derivation of large supplies of human somatic cells that are restricted to the lineage in need of repair and regeneration4,5. Due to the prevalence of cardiovascular disease worldwide and acute shortage of donor organs, there is intense interest in developing hESC-based therapies as an alternative approach. However, how to channel the wide differentiation potential of pluripotent hESCs efficiently and predictably to a desired phenotype has been a major challenge for both developmental study and clinical translation. Conventional approaches rely on multi-lineage inclination of pluripotent cells through spontaneous germ layer differentiation, resulting in inefficient and uncontrollable lineage-commitment that is often followed by phenotypic heterogeneity and instability, hence, a high risk of tumorigenicity6-8 (see a schematic in Fig. 1A). In addition, undefined foreign/animal biological supplements and/or feeders that have typically been used for the isolation, expansion, and differentiation of hESCs may make direct use of such cell-specialized grafts in patients problematic9-11. To overcome these obstacles, we have resolved the elements of a defined culture system necessary and sufficient for sustaining the epiblast pluripotence of hESCs, serving as a platform for de novo derivation of clinically-suitable hESCs and effectively directing such hESCs uniformly towards clinically-relevant lineages by small molecules12 (see a schematic in Fig. 1B). After screening a variety of small molecules and growth factors, we found that such defined conditions rendered nicotinamide (NAM) sufficient to induce the specification of cardiomesoderm direct from pluripotent hESCs that further progressed to cardioblasts that generated human beating cardiomyocytes with high efficiency (Fig. 2). We defined conditions for induction of cardioblasts direct from pluripotent hESCs without an intervening multi-lineage embryoid body stage, enabling well-controlled efficient derivation of a large supply of human cardiac cells across the spectrum of developmental stages for cell-based therapeutics.

We have established a protocol for induction of cardioblasts direct from pluripotent human embryonic stem cells maintained under defined conditions with small molecules, which enables derivation of a large supply of human cardiac progenitors and functional cardiomyocytes for cardiovascular repair.

To date, the lack of a suitable human cardiac cell source has been the major setback in regenerating the human myocardium, either by cell-based ...

Rapid Fibroblast Removal from High Density Human Embryonic Stem Cell Cultures

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were used to establish human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) cultures after blastocyst isolation1. This feeder system maintains hESCs from undergoing spontaneous differentiation during cell expansion. However, this co-culture method is labor intensive, requires highly trained personnel, and yields low hESC purity4. Many laboratories have attempted to minimize the number of feeder cells in hESC cultures (i.e. incorporating matrix-coated dishes or other feeder cell types5-8). These modified culture systems have shown some promise, but have not supplanted the standard method for culturing hESCs with mitomycin C-treated mouse embyronic fibroblasts in order to retard unwanted spontaneous differentiation of the hESC cultures. Therefore, the feeder cells used in hESC expansion should be removed during differentiation experiments. Although several techniques are available for purifying the hESC colonies (FACS, MACS, or use of drug resistant vectors) from feeders, these techniques are labor intensive, costly and/or destructive to the hESC. The aim of this project was to invent a method of purification that enables the harvesting of a purer population of hESCs. We have observed that in a confluent hESC culture, the MEF population can be removed using a simple and rapid aspiration of the MEF sheet. This removal is dependent on several factors, including lateral cell-to-cell binding of MEFs that have a lower binding affinity to the styrene culture dish, and the ability of the stem cell colonies to push the fibroblasts outward during the generation of their own "niche". The hESC were then examined for SSEA-4, Oct3/4 and Tra 1-81 expression up to 10 days after MEF removal to ensure maintenance of pluripotency. Moreover, hESC colonies were able to continue growing from into larger formations after MEF removal, providing an additional level of hESC expansion.

Despite ongoing efforts to transition cultures to feeder-free conditions, the derivation and culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) remain largely dependent on co-cultures with mouse embryonic feeders (MEFs). Here, we show a novel methodology for rapidly removing feeders from hESC cultures prior to experimentation.

Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs) were used to establish human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) cultures after blastocyst isolation1. This feeder system ...

Na&iuml;ve Adult Stem Cells Isolation from Primary Human Fibroblast Cultures

Over the last decade, several adult stem cell populations have been identified in human skin 1-4. The isolation of multipotent adult dermal precursors was first reported by Miller F. D laboratory 5, 6. These early studies described a multipotent precursor cell population from adult mammalian dermis 5. These cells--termed SKPs, for skin-derived precursors-- were isolated and expanded from rodent and human skin and differentiated into both neural and mesodermal progeny, including cell types never found in skin, such as neurons 5. Immunocytochemical studies on cultured SKPs revealed that cells expressed vimentin and nestin, an intermediate filament protein expressed in neural and skeletal muscle precursors, in addition to fibronectin and multipotent stem cell markers 6. Until now, the adult stem cells population SKPs have been isolated from freshly collected mammalian skin biopsies.
Recently, we have established and reported that a population of skin derived precursor cells could remain present in primary fibroblast cultures established from skin biopsies 7. The assumption that a few somatic stem cells might reside in primary fibroblast cultures at early population doublings was based upon the following observations: (1) SKPs and primary fibroblast cultures are derived from the dermis, and therefore a small number of SKP cells could remain present in primary dermal fibroblast cultures and (2) primary fibroblast cultures grown from frozen aliquots that have been subjected to unfavorable temperature during storage or transfer contained a small number of cells that remained viable 7. These rare cells were able to expand and could be passaged several times. This observation suggested that a small number of cells with high proliferation potency and resistance to stress were present in human fibroblast cultures 7.
We took advantage of these findings to establish a protocol for rapid isolation of adult stem cells from primary fibroblast cultures that are readily available from tissue banks around the world (Figure 1). This method has important significance as it allows the isolation of precursor cells when skin samples are not accessible while fibroblast cultures may be available from tissue banks, thus, opening new opportunities to dissect the molecular mechanisms underlying rare genetic diseases as well as modeling diseases in a dish.

Na&amp;#239;ve Adult Stem Cells Isolation from Primary Human Fibroblast Cultures

We report a method to isolate na&#239;ve multipotent skin-derived precursor (SKP) cells from primary human fibroblast cultures. We show that these SKPs derived from fibroblast cultures share similar stem cell properties to the ones derived directly from human skin biopsies. These cells express the neural crest marker, nestin, in addition to the multipotent markers such as OCT4 and Nanog.

Over the last decade, several adult stem cell  populations have been identified in human skin 1-4.  The isolation of multipotent adult dermal precursors ...

Efficient Generation Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells from Human Somatic Cells with Sendai-virus

A few years ago, the establishment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) ushered in a new era in biomedicine. Potential uses of human iPSCs include modeling pathogenesis of human genetic diseases, autologous cell therapy after gene correction, and personalized drug screening by providing a source of patient-specific and symptom relevant cells. However, there are several hurdles to overcome, such as eliminating the remaining reprogramming factor transgene expression after human iPSCs production. More importantly, residual transgene expression in undifferentiated human iPSCs could hamper proper differentiations and misguide the interpretation of disease-relevant in vitro phenotypes. With this reason, integration-free and/or transgene-free human iPSCs have been developed using several methods, such as adenovirus, the piggyBac system, minicircle vector, episomal vectors, direct protein delivery and synthesized mRNA. However, efficiency of reprogramming using integration-free methods is quite low in most cases.
Here, we present a method to isolate human iPSCs by using Sendai-virus (RNA virus) based reprogramming system. This reprogramming method shows consistent results and high efficiency in cost-effective manner.

Here, we present our established method to reprogram human somatic cells into transgene-free human iPSCs with Sendai virus, which shows consistent outcome and enhanced efficiency.

A few years ago, the establishment of human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) ushered in a new era in biomedicine. Potential uses of human iPSCs ...

Alternative Cultures for Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Production, Maintenance, and Genetic Analysis

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) hold great promise for regenerative medicine and biopharmaceutical applications. Currently, optimal culture and efficient expansion of large amounts of clinical-grade hPSCs are critical issues in hPSC-based therapies. Conventionally, hPSCs are propagated as colonies on both feeder and feeder-free culture systems. However, these methods have several major limitations, including low cell yields and generation of heterogeneously differentiated cells. To improve current hPSC culture methods, we have recently developed a new method, which is based on non-colony type monolayer (NCM) culture of dissociated single cells. Here, we present detailed NCM protocols based on the Rho-associated kinase (ROCK) inhibitor Y-27632. We also provide new information regarding NCM culture with different small molecules such as Y-39983 (ROCK I inhibitor), phenylbenzodioxane (ROCK II inhibitor), and thiazovivin (a novel ROCK inhibitor). We further extend our basic protocol to cultivate hPSCs on defined extracellular proteins such as the laminin isoform 521 (LN-521) without the use of ROCK inhibitors. Moreover, based on NCM, we have demonstrated efficient transfection or transduction of plasmid DNAs, lentiviral particles, and oligonucleotide-based microRNAs into hPSCs in order to genetically modify these cells for molecular analyses and drug discovery. The NCM-based methods overcome the major shortcomings of colony-type culture, and thus may be suitable for producing large amounts of homogeneous hPSCs for future clinical therapies, stem cell research, and drug discovery.

Here, we present human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) culture protocols, based on non-colony type monolayer (NCM) growth of dissociated single cells. This new method, utilizing Rho-associated kinase inhibitors or the laminin isoform 521 (LN-521), is suitable for producing large amounts of homogeneous hPSCs, genetic manipulation, and drug discovery.

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) hold great promise for regenerative medicine and biopharmaceutical applications. Currently, optimal culture and ...

Efficient and Consistent Generation of Retinal Pigment Epithelium/Choroid Flatmounts from Human Eyes for Histological Analysis

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and retina are functionally and structurally connected tissues that work together to regulate light perception and vision. Proteins on the RPE apical surface are tightly associated with proteins on the photoreceptor outer segment surface, making it difficult to consistently separate the RPE from the photoreceptors/retina. We developed a method to efficiently separate the retina from the RPE of human eyes to generate complete RPE/choroid and retina flatmounts for separate cellular analysis of the photoreceptors and RPE cells. An intravitreal injection of a high-osmolarity solution of D-mannitol, a sugar not transported by the RPE, induced the separation of the RPE and retina across the entire posterior chamber without causing damage to the RPE cell junctions. No RPE patches were observed attached to the retina. Phalloidin labeling of actin showed RPE shape preservation and allowed morphometric analysis of the entire epithelium. An artificial intelligence (AI)-based software was developed to accurately recognize and segment the RPE cell borders and quantify 30 different shape metrics. This dissection method is highly reproducible and can be easily extended to other animal models.

We describe a method to efficiently separate retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) from the retina in human eyes and generate whole RPE/choroid flatmounts for histological and morphometric analyses of the RPE.

The retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and retina are functionally and structurally connected tissues that work together to regulate light perception and ...