(176m) A Scalable and Efficient Bioprocess for Manufacturing Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Endothelial Cells

Endothelial
cells (ECs) are of are major components of blood vessels great value for cell
therapy, tissue engineering, and drug discovery. Obtaining high-quantity and
-quality ECs remains very challenging. Here, we report a method for the
scalable manufacturing of ECs from human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs). hPSCs
are expanded and differentiated into ECs in a 3D thermoreversible PNIPAAm-PEG
hydrogel. The hydrogel protects cells from hydrodynamic stresses in the culture
vessel and prevents cells from excessive agglomeration, leading to high-culture
efficiency including high-viability (>90%), high-purity (>80%), and
high-volumetric yield (2.0 ¡Á 107 cells/mL). These ECs (i.e., 3D-ECs) had
similar properties as ECs made using 2D culture systems (i.e., 2D-ECs).
Genome-wide gene expression analysis showed that 3D-ECs had higher expression
of genes related to vasculature development, extracellular matrix, and
glycolysis, while 2D-ECs had higher expression of genes related to cell
proliferation. (Published in Stem cell reports. 2018 Aug 14;11(2):454-69.)