The discovery, described in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B, challenges the theory that feeder cells provide nutrients to growing stem cells. It also means that the relationship between the two cells is superficial, according to , Ph.D., a biomedical engineer at The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP).
鈥淲e鈥檝e proved an important phenomenon,鈥� said Joddar, who runs UTEP鈥檚 . 鈥淎nd it suggests that these feeder cells, which are difficult to grow, may not be important at all for stem cell growth.鈥�
In the study, feeder cells were chemically fixed before living stem cells were placed in the same dish. Like organs that are preserved with formaldehyde, this kept the feeder cells鈥� physical appearance the same, but essentially killed them.
Even though the feeder cells were dead, the stem cells still latched on and grew successfully.
The discovery offers a simpler and more cost-effective way to grow stem cells, which has proved difficult over the years.
鈥淏ecause feeder cells don鈥檛 need to stay alive in the process, we can store them at room temperature and spend less time cultivating them,鈥� Joddar said.
Joddar believes the finding suggests that stem cells may only like the 鈥渢opology鈥� of feeder cells.
鈥淭his makes me think that we use a nanomanufacturing approach to grow stem cells,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e could mimic feeder cells鈥� nanotopology with 3-D printing techniques and skip using feeder cells altogether in the future.鈥�
For a full copy of the paper, email [email protected].
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