草莓污视频导航

Sept. 28, 2020

Stem cell breakthrough advances regenerative medicine

McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health researchers develop a way to produce large quantities of human pluripotent stem cells in bioreactors
naive pluripotent stem cells
Naive pluripotent stem cells Leili Rohani

Stem cells, found within tissues of the body, give rise to specific tissues and organs. A special type of cell, called a pluripotent stem cell, is considered a master cell because it can develop into any cell or tissue in the human body.

Pluripotent stem cells are extremely valuable and harbour enormous potential in regenerative medicine because they can be used for many different applications. They offer unique opportunities to advance the development of cell-based therapies, stem cell biobanks and clinical trials. However, there has been one big problem 鈥 it鈥檚 been difficult for researchers to make the large quantities of these stem cells needed without compromising the cells鈥 integrity 鈥 until now.

A team of researchers at the , and the has developed a way to make large quantities of pluripotent stem cells that maintain their effectiveness.聽

How pluripotent stem cells work

There are two cell states in pluripotent stem cells 鈥 na茂ve and primed. Primed cells are ones that have started to differentiate or direct themselves toward a specific role. Cells that haven鈥檛 begun to differentiate are called na茂ve pluripotent stem cells. They are more recently discovered and often viewed as better for medical use.

鈥淣a茂ve pluripotent stem cells can be isolated relatively easily in mice but in humans, it鈥檚 very difficult,鈥 explains Dr. Derrick Rancourt, PhD, an author on the paper. 鈥淎s soon as you put them into culture (an environment where cells can grow), they start to differentiate or direct themselves toward聽a specific role.鈥

To overcome this hurdle, the research team developed a way to convert primed pluripotent stem cells to a na茂ve state that is more stable. These na茂ve cells were then put in stirred suspension bioreactors, a technology used to generate large quantities of cells.

鈥淐onventional primed human pluripotent stem cells do not grow as efficiently in bioreactors as mouse pluripotent stem cells. So, we converted them to na茂ve stem cells, which are more immature,鈥 explains Dr. Leili Rohani, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in Rancourt鈥檚 lab and the first author of the paper.

Dr. Michael Kallos, PhD, PEng, and his graduate student Breanna Borys, a PhD candidate in the biomedical engineering graduate program, were able to upscale large quantities of the cells in stirred-suspension bioreactors. 鈥淭he bioreactor helps the na茂ve stem cells stay in a stable state and allows us to safety and effectively produce the large quantities needed for stem cell therapies,鈥 says Kallos.

Pioneers in stem cell research

Kallos and Rancourt have been working together for 20 years and are pioneers in developing methods for expanding mouse pluripotent stem cells in bioreactors. When they transitioned their work to humans, they initially ran into problems because primed human stem cells don鈥檛 expand as readily as mouse cells.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 why this is a critical study 鈥斅燽ecause we were able to show that with the na茂ve pluripotent stem cells, we can generate a lot more cells, which has tremendous implications for regenerative medicine,鈥 says Rancourt.

For more information about the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health,

Stem cell paper team

Research team, from left: Derrick Rancourt, Leili Rohani, Michael Kalos, Breanna Borys.

Derrick Rancourt is a professor in the departments of Oncology, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology and Medical Genetics, Cumming School of Medicine (CSM), 草莓污视频导航. He is a member of the CSM鈥檚 McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health, the and the

Michael Kallos is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy in the CSM. He is the associate director of the Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF), the director of Biomedical Engineering (BME) Calgary and associate director of the Center for Bioengineering Research and Education (CBRE).聽He is also a member of the McCaig Institute for Bone and Joint Health.

Leili Rohani is a former postdoctoral fellow in Derrick Rancourt鈥檚 lab in the CSM. She is currently a stem cell scientist at the Centre for Heart Lung Innovation (HLI) at the University of British Columbia.

Breanna Borys is a PhD candidate and Vanier Scholar in the biomedical engineering graduate program at the 草莓污视频导航, under the supervision of Michael Kallos at the Pharmaceutical Production Research Facility (PPRF).

The 草莓污视频导航鈥檚 multidisciplinary聽Engineering Solutions for Health: Biomedical Engineering聽research strategy drives solutions to our most pressing health challenges in disease and injury prevention, diagnosis, and treatments. Our biomedical engineering researchers make a significant impact in our communities by extending lives, improving quality of life, promoting independence, and continuously improving the health system.