Integrated culture platform based on a human platelet lysate supplement for the isolation and scalable manufacturing of umbilical cord matrix‐derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells

Umbilical cord matrix (UCM)‐derived mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are promising therapeutic candidates for regenerative medicine settings. UCM MSCs have advantages over adult cells as these can be obtained through a non‐invasive harvesting procedure and display a higher proliferative capacity. However, the high cell doses required in the clinical setting make large‐scale manufacturing of UCM MSCs mandatory. A commercially available human platelet lysate‐based culture supplement (UltraGRO^TM, AventaCell BioMedical) (5%(v/v)) was tested to effectively isolate UCM MSCs and to expand these cells under (1) static conditions, using planar culture systems and (2) stirred culture using plastic microcarriers in a spinner flask. The MSC‐like cells were isolated from UCM explant cultures after 11 ± 2 days. After five passages in static culture, UCM MSCs retained their immunophenotype and multilineage differentiation potential. The UCM MSCs cultured under static conditions using UltraGRO^TM‐supplemented medium expanded more rapidly compared with UCM MSCs expanded using a previously established protocol. Importantly, UCM MSCs were successfully expanded under dynamic conditions on plastic microcarriers using UltraGRO^TM‐supplemented medium in spinner flasks. Upon an initial 54% cell adhesion to the beads, UCM MSCs expanded by >13‐fold after 5–6 days, maintaining their immunophenotype and multilineage differentiation ability. The present paper reports the establishment of an easily scalable integrated culture platform based on a human platelet lysate supplement for the effective isolation and expansion of UCM MSCs in a xenogeneic‐free microcarrier‐based system. This platform represents an important advance in obtaining safer and clinically meaningful MSC numbers for clinical translation. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.