技术资料

The routine application of human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) and their derivatives in biomedicine and drug discovery will require the constant supply of high-quality cells by defined processes. Culturing hPSCs as cell-only aggregates in (three-dimensional [3D]) suspension has the potential to overcome numerous limitations of conventional surface-adherent (two-dimensional [2D]) cultivation. Utilizing single-use instrumented stirred-tank bioreactors,we showed that perfusion resulted in a more homogeneous culture environment and enabled superior cell densities of 2.85 X 10(6) cells per milliliter and 47% higher cell yields compared with conventional repeated batch cultures. Flow cytometry,quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction,and global gene expression analysis revealed a high similarity across 3D suspension and 2D precultures,underscoring that matrix-free hPSC culture efficiently supports maintenance of pluripotency. Interestingly,physiological data and gene expression assessment indicated distinct changes of the cells' energy metabolism,suggesting a culture-induced switch from glycolysis to oxidative phosphorylation in the absence of hPSC differentiation. Our data highlight the plasticity of hPSCs' energy metabolism and provide clear physiological and molecular targets for process monitoring and further development. This study paves the way toward more efficient GMP-compliant cell production and underscores the enormous process development potential of hPSCs in suspension culture. SIGNIFICANCE Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) are a unique source for the,in principle,unlimited production of functional human cell types in vitro,which are of high value for therapeutic and industrial applications. This study applied single-use,clinically compliant bioreactor technology to develop advanced,matrix-free,and more efficient culture conditions for the mass production of hPSCs in scalable suspension culture. Using extensive analytical tools to compare established conditions with this novel culture strategy,unexpected physiological features of hPSCs were discovered. These data allow a more rational process development,providing significant progress in the field of translational stem cell research and medicine. View Publication

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) derived from healthy individuals are important controls for disease-modeling studies. Here we apply precision health to create a high-quality resource of control iPSCs. Footprint-free lines were reprogrammed from four volunteers of the Personal Genome Project Canada (PGPC). Multilineage-directed differentiation efficiently produced functional cortical neurons,cardiomyocytes and hepatocytes. Pilot users demonstrated versatility by generating kidney organoids,T lymphocytes,and sensory neurons. A frameshift knockout was introduced into MYBPC3 and these cardiomyocytes exhibited the expected hypertrophic phenotype. Whole-genome sequencing-based annotation of PGPC lines revealed on average 20 coding variants. Importantly,nearly all annotated PGPC and HipSci lines harbored at least one pre-existing or acquired variant with cardiac,neurological,or other disease associations. Overall,PGPC lines were efficiently differentiated by multiple users into cells from six tissues for disease modeling,and variant-preferred healthy control lines were identified for specific disease settings. View Publication