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Recreating Tissue Structures Representative of Teratomas In Vitro Using a Combination of 3D Cell Culture Technology and Human Embryonic Stem Cells

Hidalgo Aguilar, Alejandro; Smith, Lucy; Owens, Dominic; Quelch, Rebecca; Przyborski, Stefan

Recreating Tissue Structures Representative of Teratomas In Vitro Using a Combination of 3D Cell Culture Technology and Human Embryonic Stem Cells Thumbnail


Authors

Alejandro Hidalgo Aguilar

Dr Lucy Smith l.a.smith2@durham.ac.uk
Post Doctoral Research Associate

Dominic Owens

Rebecca Quelch



Abstract

In vitro studies using human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) are a valuable method to study aspects of embryogenesis, avoiding ethical issues when using embryonic materials and species dissimilarities. The xenograft teratoma assay is often traditionally used to establish pluripotency in putative PSC populations, but also has additional applications, including the study of tissue differentiation. The stem cell field has long sought an alternative due to various well-established issues with the in vivo technique, including significant protocol variability and animal usage. We have established a two-step culture method which combines PSC-derived embryoid bodies (EBs) with porous scaffolds to enhance their viability, prolonging the time these structures can be maintained, and therefore, permitting more complex, mature differentiation. Here, we have utilised human embryonic stem cell-derived EBs, demonstrating the formation of tissue rudiments of increasing complexity over time and the ability to manipulate their differentiation through the application of exogenous morphogens to achieve specific lineages. Crucially, these EB-derived tissues are highly reminiscent of xenograft teratoma samples derived from the same cell line. We believe this in vitro approach represents a reproducible, animal-free alternative to the teratoma assay, which can be used to study human tissue development.

Citation

Hidalgo Aguilar, A., Smith, L., Owens, D., Quelch, R., & Przyborski, S. (2022). Recreating Tissue Structures Representative of Teratomas In Vitro Using a Combination of 3D Cell Culture Technology and Human Embryonic Stem Cells. Bioengineering, 9(5), Article 185. https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9050185

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 19, 2022
Online Publication Date Apr 22, 2022
Publication Date 2022
Deposit Date Jun 20, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Bioengineering
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 9
Issue 5
Article Number 185
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/bioengineering9050185

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited





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