Cell Culture
and elasticity of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and cell-cell interactions). The incorporation of these cues for in vitro cultivation of cells is crucial for recreating a cell’s natural niche. For example, in myogenic induction, it has been found that the MyoD1 muscle marker protein will only be fully expressed by Murine muscle cell cultures when the hydrogel matrix stiffness matches that of muscle (11kPa). Hydrogel systems such as Glycosan Biosystem’s HyStem™, allow researchers to design environments in which cells respond in a physio- logically relevant manner. HyStem™ is a customis- able synthetic hydrogel that can be used as an in vivo animal-free cellular delivery vehicle which is biocompatible, biodegradable and injectable. HyStem™ is optimal for culturing stem cells whose natural environments are rich in hyaluronic acid. The HyStem™ hydrogel scaffold closely mimics the rich, natural extracellular matrix environment, complete with hyaluronic acid and collagen fibrils, into which appropriate growth factors, attachment factors, and proteins can be incorporated selective- ly by the researcher. The Cell Cycle partnership is working to deliver complete cell culture solutions for researchers (Figure 13).
As the biomedical research community continues to make extraordinary strides in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of debilitating diseases, it has become more critical that reliable, efficient, affordable, and relevant techniques for the culture of cells, particularly stem cells, become available. Global Cell Solutions (GCS) (
www.globalcellsolu-
tions.com) along with Hamilton Company (
www.hamiltoncompany.com) have developed the ideal cell culture system that allows for 3D stem cell cultures at the benchtop. This cell culture solu- tion is a magnetic, pipettable and application- friendly microcarrier called the GEM™. The GEM™ consists of a magnetic core, an optically clear and non-autofluorescent alginate micros- phere, and a thin molecular layer of basement bio- mimetic coating. Cells are loaded on to the GEM™ where the coating allows them to divide and expand. GCS offers a variety of kits to researchers, including one with the pre-coated and ready-to-use laminin and basement membrane GEM™ micro- carriers to promote the expansion and mainte- nance of most adherent stem cells feeder-free. Stem cells can now be magnetically manipulated open- ing the door for co-cultures and novel experiments. The cells can be sampled, transferred, monitored for pluripotency, assayed, imaged and cryopre- served directly on the microcarrier. Furthermore, they never have to come near trypsin during these
Drug Discovery World Summer 2010
Figure 14: Human neural stem cells begin directed differentiation on the Global Cell Solutions GEM (image courtesy of Life & Brain)
applications. The magnetic GEM™ can be gently levitated and dispersed in the growth media while also enabling full automation of the cell culture process. The alginate core of the GEM™ shares properties with hyaluronic acid which has been shown to affect differentiation. Thus, the GEM™ makes 3D stem cell culture convenient, reliable and efficient (Figure 14).
Figure 15: Chicken embryonic cardiomyocytes (striations) and fibroblasts (no striations) cultured with Glycosan BioSystems HyStem hydrogel. Blue = Nuclei, Red = Actin and Green = Alpha-Actinin
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