Research Spotlight

New study shows that Synthecon's RCCS can expand and maintain stemness of adipose derived MSCs cultured in spheroids. Zhang et al. also demonstrate that the spheroids generated by the RCCS are therapeutically superior to those cultured in monolayers.

The effects of spheroid formation of adipose-derived stem cells in a microgravity bioreactor on stemness properties and therapeutic potential.

Zhang S, Liu P, Chen L, Wang Y, Wang Z, Zhang B. Biomaterials. 2015 Feb;41:15-25. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2014.11.019. Epub 2014 Dec 1. [Abstract]

Excerpt from the Discussion Section of the study:

" Although previous studies have indicated that spheroid formation of ADSCs on several biomaterials or using hanging drop retain their stemness properties, these methods of spheroid culture do not fully meet the requirements of large-scale expansion for clinical application . Our previous study and other studies have demonstrated that the MB ( microgravity bioreactor) culture system exhibits unique advantages in spheroid  formation and large-scale production of stem cells. However, the effects of spheroid formation of ADSCs in MB on their stemness properties have not been reported. In the present study, we demonstrated that ADSCs can form compact cellular spheroids and remain viable when cultured in the MB. This finding was consistent with a previous study." Zhang et al. 2015