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Iworima DG, Baker RK, Piret JM, Kieffer TJ. Analysis of the effects of bench-scale cell culture platforms and inoculum cell concentrations on PSC aggregate formation and culture. Front Bioeng Biotechnol 2023; 11:1267007. [PMID: 38107616 PMCID: PMC10722899 DOI: 10.3389/fbioe.2023.1267007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/18/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) provide many opportunities for application in regenerative medicine due to their ability to differentiate into cells from all three germ layers, proliferate indefinitely, and replace damaged or dysfunctional cells. However, such cell replacement therapies require the economical generation of clinically relevant cell numbers. Whereas culturing hPSCs as a two-dimensional monolayer is widely used and relatively simple to perform, their culture as suspended three-dimensional aggregates may enable more economical production in large-scale stirred tank bioreactors. To be more relevant to this biomanufacturing, bench-scale differentiation studies should be initiated from aggregated hPSC cultures. Methods: We compared five available bench-scale platforms for generating undifferentiated cell aggregates of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) using AggreWell™ plates, low attachment plates on an orbital shaker, roller bottles, spinner flasks, and vertical-wheel bioreactors (PBS-Minis). Thereafter, we demonstrated the incorporation of an hPSC aggregation step prior to directed differentiation to pancreatic progenitors and endocrine cells. Results and discussion: The AggreWell™ system had the highest aggregation yield. The initial cell concentrations had an impact on the size of aggregates generated when using AggreWell™ plates as well as in roller bottles. However, aggregates made with low attachment plates, spinner flasks and PBS-Minis were similar regardless of the initial cell number. Aggregate morphology was compact and relatively homogenously distributed in all platforms except for the roller bottles. The size of aggregates formed in PBS-Minis was modulated by the agitation rate during the aggregation. In all cell culture platforms, the net growth rate of cells in 3D aggregates was lower (range: -0.01-0.022 h-1) than cells growing as a monolayer (range: 0.039-0.045 h-1). Overall, this study describes operating ranges that yield high-quality undifferentiated hESC aggregates using several of the most commonly used bench-scale cell culture platforms. In all of these systems, methods were identified to obtain PSC aggregates with greater than 70% viability, and mean diameters between 60 and 260 mm. Finally, we showed the capacity of hPSC aggregates formed with PBS-Minis to differentiate into viable pancreatic progenitors and endocrine cell types.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diepiriye G. Iworima
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Robert K. Baker
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - James M. Piret
- School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Michael Smith Laboratories, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
| | - Timothy J. Kieffer
- Department of Cellular and Physiological Sciences, Life Sciences Institute, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- School of Biomedical Engineering, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
- Department of Surgery, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada
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Cohen PJR, Luquet E, Pletenka J, Leonard A, Warter E, Gurchenkov B, Carrere J, Rieu C, Hardouin J, Moncaubeig F, Lanero M, Quelennec E, Wurtz H, Jamet E, Demarco M, Banal C, Van Liedekerke P, Nassoy P, Feyeux M, Lefort N, Alessandri K. Engineering 3D micro-compartments for highly efficient and scale-independent expansion of human pluripotent stem cells in bioreactors. Biomaterials 2023; 295:122033. [PMID: 36764194 DOI: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2023.122033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/31/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) have emerged as the most promising cellular source for cell therapies. To overcome the scale-up limitations of classical 2D culture systems, suspension cultures have been developed to meet the need for large-scale culture in regenerative medicine. Despite constant improvements, current protocols that use microcarriers or generate cell aggregates only achieve moderate amplification performance. Here, guided by reports showing that hPSCs can self-organize in vitro into cysts reminiscent of the epiblast stage in embryo development, we developed a physio-mimetic approach for hPSC culture. We engineered stem cell niche microenvironments inside microfluidics-assisted core-shell microcapsules. We demonstrate that lumenized three-dimensional colonies significantly improve viability and expansion rates while maintaining pluripotency compared to standard hPSC culture platforms such as 2D cultures, microcarriers, and aggregates. By further tuning capsule size and culture conditions, we scale up this method to industrial-scale stirred tank bioreactors and achieve an unprecedented hPSC amplification rate of 277-fold in 6.5 days. In brief, our findings indicate that our 3D culture system offers a suitable strategy both for basic stem cell biology experiments and for clinical applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philippe J R Cohen
- Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, IPSC Core Facility, INSERM UMR U1163, F-75015, Paris, France; Treefrog Therapeutics, F-33600, Pessac, France.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Eddy Quelennec
- Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, IPSC Core Facility, INSERM UMR U1163, F-75015, Paris, France; Treefrog Therapeutics, F-33600, Pessac, France
| | | | | | | | - Celine Banal
- Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, IPSC Core Facility, INSERM UMR U1163, F-75015, Paris, France
| | - Paul Van Liedekerke
- Inria Paris & Sorbonne Université LJLL, 2 Rue Simone IFF, F-75012, Paris, France
| | - Pierre Nassoy
- LP2N, Laboratoire Photonique Numérique et Nanosciences, Univ. Bordeaux, F-33400, Talence, France; Institut D'Optique Graduate School & CNRS UMR 5298, F-33400, Talence, France
| | | | - Nathalie Lefort
- Université Paris Cité, Imagine Institute, IPSC Core Facility, INSERM UMR U1163, F-75015, Paris, France
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