| WARF: P05355US |  |
| Culturing Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Well Defined and Controlled Conditions |
| INVENTORS | • | Tenneille Ludwig, James Thomson |
The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in well defined and controlled culture conditions that make possible the derivation and maintenance of human ES cell lines without direct or indirect exposure to animal cells of any kind.
OVERVIEW
Human embryonic stem (ES) cells are potentially capable of supplying cells and tissues for replacement of defective human tissue. However, procedures currently used to culture human ES cells involve the use of non-human cells and protein products, including murine cell proteins (through direct or indirect exposure to feeder layers or cell products in the matrix) and bovine serum products. Preparation of feeder layers is labor intensive, and use of animal products not only provides a significant amount of variation in culture, but also raises concerns regarding cross-species contamination.
THE INVENTION
UW-Madison researchers have developed culture conditions for human ES cells that are entirely free of animal products, feeder cells and conditioned medium. These conditions permit the indefinite culture and proliferation of human ES cells in an undifferentiated state. The medium includes high levels of a fibroblast growth factor, salts, vitamins, amino acids, glucose, gamma-aminobutyric acid, transforming growth factor beta, pipecholic acid, a lithium salt and lipids. It has been shown to support undifferentiated ES cell proliferation through at least thirteen passages and has proven sufficient to support the derivation of new lines of human ES cells.
The culture conditions also include a biological matrix in the culture vessel. The biological matrix is composed of four human proteins - collagen, laminin, fibronectin, and vitronectin.
No animal products of any kind and no fibroblasts from any species, including humans, are necessary in the culture. Instead, only purified, well characterized components are used to provide a more consistent culture system.
APPLICATIONS
- Derivation and maintenance of human ES cell lines
KEY BENEFITS
- No animal products, including no mouse Matrigel
- No feeder cells
- No conditioned medium
- Makes possible the derivation and maintenance of human ES cell lines in well defined and controlled conditions without direct or indirect exposure to animal cells of any kind
- Eliminates one potential hurdle to the use of ES cells in human cell therapies
- Eliminates two of the major sources of variability in cultures
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
For More Information About the Inventors
Intellectual Property Status
Tech Fields
Pluripotent Cells - Culture
Drug Discovery - Stem cells
Research Tools - Media
CONTACT INFORMATION
For current licensing status, please contact our team at
licensing@warf.org
or phone 608.262.4924. (Clicking this link will open a contact form in a popup window. If you have problems viewing the form, try disabling your popup blocker software.)
Since its founding in 1925 as the patenting and licensing organization for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, WARF has been working with business and industry to transform university research into products that benefit society. WARF intellectual property managers and licensing staff members are leaders in the field of university-based technology transfer. They are familiar with the intricacies of patenting, have worked with researchers in relevant disciplines, understand industries and markets, and have negotiated innovative licensing strategies to meet the individual needs of business clients.
