Umbilical Cord Blood Platelet Lysate as Serum Substitute in Expansion of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Shirzad, Negin; Bordbar, Sima; Goodarzi, Alireza; Mohammad, Monire; Khosravani, Pardis; Sayahpour, Froughazam; Baghaban Eslaminejad, Mohamadreza; Ebrahimi, Marzieh

doi:10.22074/cellj.2017.4886

Umbilical Cord Blood Platelet Lysate as Serum Substitute in Expansion of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Regenerative Biomedicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

² Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran

³ Department of Regenerative Biomedicine, Cell Science Research Center, Royan Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Technology, ACECR, Tehran, Iran;Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology, Cell Science Research Ce

10.22074/cellj.2017.4886

Abstract

Objective
The diverse clinical applications for human mesenchymal stem cells (hM- SCs) in cellular therapy and regenerative medicine warrant increased focus on developing adequate culture supplements devoid of animal-derived products. In the present study, we have investigated the feasibility of umbilical cord blood-platelet lysate (UCB-PL) as a standard substitute for fetal bovine serum (FBS) and human peripheral blood-PL (PB-PL).
Materials and Methods
In this experimental study, platelet concentrates (PC) from UCB and human PB donors were frozen, melted, and sterilized to obtain PL. Quality control included platelet cell counts, sterility testing (viral and microbial), total protein concentrations, growth factor levels, and PL stability. The effects of UCB-PL and PB-PL on hMSCs proliferation and differentiation into osteocytes, chondrocytes, and adipocytes were studied and the results compared with FBS.
Results
UCB-PL contained high levels of protein content, platelet-derived growth factor-AB (PDGF-AB), and transforming growth factor (TGF) compared to PB-PL. All growth factors were stable for at least nine months post-storage at -70˚C. hMSCs proliferation enhanced following treatment with UCB-PL. With all three supplements, hMSCs could differentiate into all three lineages.
Conclusion
PB-PL and UCB-PL both were potent in hMSCs proliferation. However, PB promoted osteoblastic differentiation and UCB-PL induced chondrogenic differentiation. Because of availability, ease of use and feasible standardization of UCB-PL, we have suggested that UCB-PL be used as an alternative to FBS and PB-PL for the cultivation and expansion of hMSCs in cellular therapy.

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