• Catharina Ellerström, Raimund Strehl, Karina Moya, Katarina Andersson, Christina Bergh, Kersti Lundin, Johan Hyllner, and Henrik Semb.
• Cellartis AB, Göteborg, Sweden.
• Stem Cells. 2006 Oct 1; 24 (10): 2170-6.

AbstractElimination of all animal material during both the derivation and long-term culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) is necessary prior to future application of hESCs in clinical cell therapy. The potential consequences of transplanting xeno-contaminated hESCs into patients, such as an increased risk of graft rejection [Stem Cells 2006; 24:221-229] and the potential transfer of nonhuman pathogens, make existing hESC lines unsuitable for clinical applications. To avoid xeno-contamination during derivation and culture of hESCs, we first developed a xeno-free medium supplemented with human serum, which supports long-term (>50 passages) culture of hESCs in an undifferentiated state. To enable derivation of new xeno-free hESCs, we also established xeno-free human foreskin fibroblast feeders and replaced immunosurgery, which involves the use of guinea pig complement, with a modified animal-product-free derivation procedure. Here, we report the establishment and characterization (>20 passages) of a xeno-free pluripotent diploid normal hESC line, SA611.

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