What is an MSC (Mesenchymal Stem Cell)?

FBS vs hPL for MSC expansion

Multiple published studies comparing FBS and hPL for MSC expansion consistently find: hPL at 5% supports higher proliferation rates (shorter population doubling time), equivalent or better maintenance of ISCT immunophenotype criteria, and often superior immunomodulatory potency. For clinical-grade MSC manufacturing, hPL is the preferred supplement under EMA ATMP guidelines because it eliminates bovine protein exposure and is available in GMP grade with full donor documentation.

MSC clinical applications

MSCs are in clinical trials for: GvHD, Crohn's disease, ARDS, COVID-19 pneumonia, osteoarthritis, myocardial infarction, and ALS. Allogeneic MSC products can often be administered without HLA matching — enabling off-the-shelf manufacturing approaches.

Key Facts

• ISCT criteria: plastic-adherent; express CD73, CD90, CD105; lack CD34, CD45, CD14, HLA-DR; differentiate into osteoblasts, chondrocytes, adipocytes
• Sources: bone marrow (BM-MSC), adipose tissue (AT-MSC), umbilical cord (UC-MSC, Wharton's Jelly MSC), dental pulp, placenta
• Immunomodulatory: suppress T cell proliferation, reduce NK cytotoxicity, polarise macrophages toward M2 — via PGE2, IDO, TGF-β, IL-10
• Standard expansion: DMEM or α-MEM + 10% FBS (research) or 5% hPL (clinical grade, xeno-free)
• hPL at 5% outperforms FBS at 10% for MSC proliferation in most published studies — recommended for clinical-grade expansion
• Passage limit: clinical protocols typically use MSCs up to passage 5–8 to maintain potency

Further Reading

• What is hPL?
• What is ATMP?
• What is Xeno-Free Cell Culture?
• hPL Complete Guide

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