Large‐scale expansion of pre‐isolated bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells in serum‐free conditions

The regenerative potential of mesenchymal stromal or stem cells (MSCs) has generated tremendous interest for treating various degenerative diseases. Regulatory preference is to use a culture medium that is devoid of bovine components for stem cell expansion intended for therapeutic applications. However, a clear choice an alternative to fetal bovine serum (FBS) has not yet emerged. We have screened five different commercially available serum‐free media (SFM) for their ability to support the growth and expansion of pre‐isolated undifferentiated bone marrow‐derived MSCs (BM‐MSCs) and compared the results with cells grown in standard FBS‐containing medium as control. In addition, based on initial screening results, BD Mosaic? Mesenchymal Stem Cell Serum‐free (BD‐SFM) medium was evaluated in large‐scale cultures for the performance and culture characteristics of BM‐MSCs. Of the five different serum‐free media, BD‐SFM enhanced BM‐MSCs growth and expansion in Cell STACK (CS), but the cell yield per CS‐10 was less when compared to the control medium. The characteristics of MSCs were measured in terms of population doubling time (PDT), cell yield and expression of MSC‐specific markers. Significant differences were observed between BD‐SFM and control medium in terms of population doublings (PDs), cell yield, CFU‐F and morphological features, whereas surface phenotype and differentiation potentials were comparable. The BD‐SFM‐cultured MSCs were also found to retain the differentiation potential, immune‐privileged status and immunosuppressive properties inherent to MSCs. Our results suggest that BD‐SFM supports large‐scale expansion of BM‐MSCs for therapeutic use. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.