Allogeneic Serum is OK for Mesenchymal Stem Cell Culture

Stockholm, Sweden -

The use of mesenchymal stem cells as a therapeutic is now a clinical reality. US companies such as Osiris Therapeutics are in Phase III of clinical trials, whereas clinics outside of the US such as Cellmedicine are offering such therapies as a fee for service.

One of the problems with growing stem cells has always been the issue of fetal calf serum. Generally, cell culture reagents have always used fetal calf serum as a source of growth factors and nutrients to allow cells to live outside of the body. Unfortunately for developers of therapeutics fetal calf serum contamination on cells used clinically can elicit allergic reactions of varying degrees of severity.

In a recent study (Le Blanc et. Generation of immunosuppressive mesenchymal stem cells in allogeneic human serum. Transplantation. 2007 Oct 27;84(8):1055-9) the use of allogeneic AB serum was evaluated for growing mesenchymal stem cells as an alternative to fetal calf serum. The investigators found that:

- Proliferation and fold increase of mesenchymal stem cells was higher in the cells grown in human AB-serum compared to fetal calf serum.

- Cells grown in the human AB serum maintained a phenotypic profile identical to those in fetal calf serum

- Immune suppressive activity in terms of inhibition of mixed lymphocyte reaction was similar between cells grown in fetal calf serum or human AB serum.

This study suggests that human AB serum may be suitable for expansion of mesenchymal stem cells for clinical use.