Comparison of ex vivo expansion culture conditions of mesenchymal stem cells for human cell therapy. Transfusion 49

multipotent stem cells. Based on their properties, several clinical trials have been designed to explore their potential therapeutic effect. Fetal calf serum (FCS, commonly used for in vitro expansion) is an undesirable source of xenogeneic antigens and bears the risk of transmitting contaminations. As an alternative for FCS, platelet lysate (PL) and both autologous and allogeneic human serum have been proposed. The aim of this study is to compare the culture of bone marrow (BM)-derived MSCs in the presence of different serum supplements to determine the effect on cell growth, dif-ferentiation potential, and immunologic function. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: MSCs from BM of healthy volunteer donors were grown in the presence of 10 % FCS supplemented with 1 ng/mL basic fibroblas