Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2017 Jun 6;7(1):2850. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-03246-2.
Human pluripotent stem cells are a potentially powerful cellular resource for application in regenerative medicine. Because such applications require large numbers of human pluripotent stem cell-derived cells, a scalable culture system of human pluripotent stem cell needs to be developed. Several suspension culture systems for human pluripotent stem cell expansion exist; however, it is difficult to control the thickness of cell aggregations in these systems, leading to increased cell death likely caused by limited diffusion of gases and nutrients into the aggregations. Here, we describe a scalable culture system using the cell fiber technology for the expansion of human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. The cells were encapsulated and cultured within the core region of core-shell hydrogel microfibers, resulting in the formation of rod-shaped or fiber-shaped cell aggregations with sustained thickness and high viability. By encapsulating the cells with type I collagen, we demonstrated a long-term culture of the cells by serial passaging at a high expansion rate (14-fold in four days) while retaining its pluripotency. Therefore, our culture system could be used for large-scale expansion of human pluripotent stem cells for use in regenerative medicine.
人多能干细胞是一种潜在的强大细胞资源，可用于再生医学应用。由于此类应用需要大量的人多能干细胞衍生细胞，因此需要开发一种可扩展的人多能干细胞培养系统。目前存在几种用于人多能干细胞扩增的悬浮培养系统；然而，由于气体和营养物质向聚集物中的扩散有限，这些系统难以控制细胞聚集的厚度，从而导致细胞死亡增加。在这里，我们描述了一种使用细胞纤维技术的可扩展培养系统，用于扩增人诱导多能干细胞 (iPS) 细胞。细胞被包裹并培养在核壳水凝胶微纤维的核心区域内，形成具有持续厚度和高活力的棒状或纤维状细胞聚集物。通过用 I 型胶原蛋白包裹细胞，我们证明了在高扩增率（四天内 14 倍）下通过连续传代进行长期培养，同时保持其多能性。因此，我们的培养系统可用于大规模扩增用于再生医学的人多能干细胞。
