Direct differentiation method for making cardiomyocytes from human embryonic stem cells

Patent Number: 7,452,718

One of the important areas of research in embryonic stem cells involves design of novel ways to upscale production of differentiated cells.  Another important area is developing cells that may be used clinically.  The company Novocell, for example, has developed various systems of expanding embryonic stem cells without the use of mouse feeder layers.  Geron has developed ways of culturing stem cells in serum free media. 

The question answered by the current patent is whether differentiated cardiomyocytes can be generated without the intermediate step of going through embryoid body formation.  The patent uses several means of directly differentiating the pluripotent stem cells by using protocols involving activin-A, BMP-2 and BMP-4.

Its only independent claim covers "A direct differentiation method of obtaining cardiomyocyte lineage cells from primate pluripotent stem (pPS) cells, comprising in the following order:

a) obtaining undifferentiated pPS cells;

b) plating the undifferentiated pPS cells without forming embryoid bodies directly onto a solid surface comprising a substrate to which cardiomyocyte lineage cells adhere without forming embryoid bodies;

c) permitting the plated pPS cells to adhere onto the substrate;

d) culturing the adhered cells in the absence of serum or feeder cells, but in the presence of activin and a bone morphogenic protein to produce cardiomyocyte lineage cells; e) harvesting the cardiomyocyte lineage cells from the culture"

View this patent on the USPTO website.