Recent advances in genetic engineering have resulted in exponential growth in cell therapy technologies. This has led to a need for corresponding advances in the cell culture media that is used to recover, sustain, and expand these important cells. Cell therapy researchers and manufacturers alike, have spent valuable time and money to optimize media formulations to enhance cell proliferation while maintaining functional capabilities of stem cells and immune cells.
Proliferation rates and cell robustness often suffer in serum free media (SFM) or chemically defined formulations due to the lack of physiologically relevant protein sources and concentrations. Physiologix XF Human Growth Factor Concentrate (hGFC) is a cell culture media supplement that can be used in place of serum supplements with traditional basal media such as RPMI 1640 or DMEM/F12. In this study, hGFC was compared to various serum free media. CD4+ T cells, bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSC) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) were cultured in the presence of hGFC or SFM.
All cell types had preferentially higher cell count when grown in the presence of hGFC than in their corresponding SFM. In addition to this, CD4+ T cell function was examined by looking at cytokine profiles, activation markers CD25 and CD69, and exhaustion marker PD-1. Cells showed higher for activation in presence of hGFC. They also exhibited greater ability for exhaustion under constant stimulation, which is indicative of a more physiologically relevant response to constant stress. The implications of this data are particularly important for those in cell therapy manufacturing where cell proliferation rate and viability are critical.
