Characterization of pluripotent stem cells

Mercè Martí, Lola Mulero, Cristina Pardo, Cristina Morera, Meritxell Carrió, Leopoldo Laricchia-Robbio, Concepcion Rodriguez Esteban, Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

126 Scopus citations

Abstract

Characterization of pluripotent stem cells is required for the registration of stem cell lines and allows for an impartial and objective comparison of the results obtained when generating multiple lines. It is therefore crucial to establish specific, fast and reliable protocols to detect the hallmarks of pluripotency. Such protocols should include immunocytochemistry (takes 2 d), identification of the three germ layers in in vitro-derived embryoid bodies by immunocytochemistry (immunodetection takes 3 d) and detection of differentiation markers in in vivo-generated teratomas by immunohistochemistry (differentiation marker detection takes 4 d). Standardization of the immunodetection protocols used ensures minimum variations owing to the source, the animal species, the endogenous fluorescence or the inability to collect large amounts of cells, thereby yielding results as fast as possible without loss of quality. This protocol provides a description of all the immunodetection procedures necessary to characterize mouse and human stem cell lines in different circumstances.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)223-253
Number of pages31
JournalNature Protocols
Volume8
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2013
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

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