Improving Regenerative Therapies

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can differentiate into many different types of cells, such as skeletal and nerve tissue. The majority of regenerative therapies involving MSC rely on fetal bovine serum (FBS) to help grow and develop these cells. However, FBS can stimulate an unwanted immune response which may affect MSCs' survival and function when administered to a patient. Researchers will evaluate an alternate medium derived from clot-producing platelets and its ability to support the growth of MSCs for regenerative therapies. The team hopes this new method will generate stem cells more immunologically neutral to the patient, resulting in a better response to stem cell therapies.