Generation and Characterization of Clinical Grade Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs) from Human Umbilical Cord Tissue Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (CT-MSCs)

Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have had tremendous potential in the field of cell-based therapies, due to their unlimited capacity for proliferation and differentiation into any cell linage. For clinical use, it is important to make sure the cells are grown under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) by using an optimal starting cell source, an integration-free reprogramming method, and culturing the cells in feeder-free and xenogenic-free cell culture techniques. Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from the human umbilical cord tissue are a promising source for creating iPSCs as these cells can be stored for many years without the loss of viability and their collection is non-invasive. I have established a clinical grade protocol that produced feeder-free and integration-free human iPSCs from human umbilical cord MSCs. The iPSCs lines were successfully characterized through karyotyping, expression of pluripotency markers (OCT4, SOX2 and NANOG), and the formation of embryoid bodies (EBs) and teratomas.M.Sc.2021-07-28 00:00:0