A Kinetic Stem Cell Counting Analysis of the Specific Effects of Cell Culture Medium Growth Factors on Adipose-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells

A recently described kinetic stem cell (KSC) counting method was used to investigate the stem-cell-specific effects of commercial growth factor supplements used for expanding stem cells in adipose-tissue-derived mesenchymal cell preparations. The supplements were a proprietary growth factor product, a source of fetal bovine serum, two sources of pooled human sera, and two sources of human platelet lysate. KSC counting analyses were performed to monitor effects on the fraction and viability of stem cells in serial cultures with their respective supplements. Serial cultures supplemented with the proprietary growth factor product or fetal bovine serum showed a similar high degree of maintenance of stem cell fraction with passage. In contrast, cultures supplemented with human sera or human platelet lysate showed rapid declines in stem cell fraction. KSC counting was used to discover the cellular basis for the decreasing stem cell fractions. For human platelet lysate, it was attributable to lower rates of self-renewing symmetric stem cell divisions. For human sera, both low rates of symmetric division and high rates of stem cell death were responsible. These results demonstrate the power of the KSC counting method to provide previously inaccessible information for improving future tissue stem cell biomanufacturing.