Defined Essential 8™ Medium and Vitronectin Efficiently Support Scalable Xeno-Free Expansion of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells in Stirred Microcarrier Culture Systems

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 21;11(3):e0151264. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151264. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Human induced pluripotent stem (hiPS) cell culture using Essential 8™ xeno-free medium and the defined xeno-free matrix vitronectin was successfully implemented under adherent conditions. This matrix was able to support hiPS cell expansion either in coated plates or on polystyrene-coated microcarriers, while maintaining hiPS cell functionality and pluripotency. Importantly, scale-up of the microcarrier-based system was accomplished using a 50 mL spinner flask, under dynamic conditions. A three-level factorial design experiment was performed to identify optimal conditions in terms of a) initial cell density b) agitation speed, and c) to maximize cell yield in spinner flask cultures. A maximum cell yield of 3.5 is achieved by inoculating 55,000 cells/cm2 of microcarrier surface area and using 44 rpm, which generates a cell density of 1.4x106 cells/mL after 10 days of culture. After dynamic culture, hiPS cells maintained their typical morphology upon re-plating, exhibited pluripotency-associated marker expression as well as tri-lineage differentiation capability, which was verified by inducing their spontaneous differentiation through embryoid body formation, and subsequent downstream differentiation to specific lineages such as neural and cardiac fates was successfully accomplished. In conclusion, a scalable, robust and cost-effective xeno-free culture system was successfully developed and implemented for the scale-up production of hiPS cells.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Cell Adhesion / drug effects
  • Cell Culture Techniques / instrumentation
  • Cell Culture Techniques / methods*
  • Cell Differentiation / drug effects
  • Cell Line
  • Cell Proliferation / drug effects
  • Culture Media / pharmacology*
  • Humans
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / drug effects
  • Microspheres*
  • Vitronectin / pharmacology*

Substances

  • Culture Media
  • Vitronectin

Grants and funding

Sara M. Badenes and Tiago G. Fernandes acknowledge Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal, http://www.fct.pt) for financial support (SFRH/BPD/74449/2010, SFRH/BPD/86316/2012, respectively). Funding was received by iBB - Institute for Bioengineering and Biosciences (UID/BIO/04565/2013) from FCT. This work was also partially funded by FCT through project CARDIOSTEM- Engineered cardiac tissues and stem cell-based therapies for cardiovascular applications (MITP-TB/ECE/0013/2013). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. There are no current external funding sources for this study.