Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) have historically been cultivated on feeder layers of primary mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) in a medium supplemented with fetal calf serum (FCS). However, serum contains a wide variety of biologically active compounds that might adversely affect hESC growth and differentiation. Thus, cultivation of stem cells in FCS complicates experimental approaches to define the intracellular mechanisms required for hESC maintenance. This chapter describes the serum-free maintenance of hESCs in culture by addition of sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF). This complete protocol provides a simple alternative chemically defined serum-free system that is relatively inexpensive and advantageous for studying signaling pathways involved in hESC pluripotency.
Keywords: Human embryonic stem cells; Platelet-derived growth factor; Serum-free medium; Sphingosine-1-phosphate.