In vitro detection of residual undifferentiated cells in retinal pigment epithelial cells derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells

Methods Mol Biol. 2014:1210:183-92. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4939-1435-7_14.

Abstract

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs) such as human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are a leading candidate for regenerative medicine/cell therapies because of their capacity for pluripotency and unlimited self-renewal. However, there are significant obstacles preventing the clinical use of hPSCs. A significant safety issues is the presence of residual undifferentiated cells that have the potential to form tumors in vivo. Here, we describe the highly sensitive qRT-PCR methods for detection of residual undifferentiated cells in retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells derived from hiPSCs. qRT-PCR using probes and primers targeting LIN28A (LIN28) transcripts can detect residual undifferentiated cell levels as low as 0.002 % in hiPSC-derived RPE cells. We expect this method to contribute to process validation and quality control of hiPSC-derived cell therapy product.

MeSH terms

  • Cell Culture Techniques
  • Cell Differentiation* / genetics
  • Epithelial Cells / cytology*
  • Epithelial Cells / metabolism
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • In Vitro Techniques
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / cytology*
  • Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells / metabolism
  • Primary Cell Culture
  • Retinal Pigment Epithelium / cytology*
  • Retinal Pigment Epithelium / metabolism
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction