Growth Factors in Stem Cell Biology

Stem cell biology researchers use suitable growth factors to trigger proliferation, differentiation and/or migration of stem cells. Embryonic pluripotent stem cells can differentiate into three germ layers (endoderm, mesoderm, and ectoderm) and unlimited capacity for self-renewal^1,2. The ethical issues around the use of embryonic stem cells led to the introduction of induced pluripotent stem cells or iPSCs. In the presence of growth factors, iPSCs differentiate into majority of the progenitor cells required for development (Table 1). Therefore, the role of growth factors in differentiation of iPSCs provides an avenue for creating an unlimited supply of embryonic-like stem cells (Figure 1).

Figure 1. iPSCs differentiate into majority of the progenitor cells required for development in the presence of Growth Factors

Table 1 Growth Factors for stem cell research

Product No	Name	Expressed in	Function
SRP6153	Activin A human	Human cells	Mesodermal induction; neural cell differentiation
A1729	Activin B human	CHO
SRP6156	BMP-4 human	HEK 293	Bone formation; induction of ventral mesoderm
E9644, E5036	EGF human	E. coli	Generation of neural progenitors
SRP6253	EGF human	HEK 293
F5542	FGF-1 human	E. coli	Embryonic development; angiogenesis
F0291, HBFGF-RO	FGF-2 human	E. coli
SRP6160	FGF-4 human	Human cells
SRP6161	FGF-7 human	E. coli
F8924	FGF-10 human	E. coli
H9661	HGF human	NSO	Generation of liver progenitors
SRP6014	HGF human	CHO
SRP6166	HGF human	HEK 293
SRP6171	IL-3 human	HEK 293	Generation of liver, cardiac, hematopoietic progenitors
H7416, SCU0001	IL-6 human	HEK 293
SRP3072	IL-11 human	E. coli
N17001	Noggin human	HEK 293	Generation of pancreas progenitors
H8416	SCF human	HEK 293	Generation of hematopoietic progenitors
T7039, 11412272001	TGF-b1 human	CHO	Maintenance and differentiation of embryonic stem cells and somatic stem cells
V7259, SRP3182	VEGF human	E. coli	Generation of cardiac and hematopoietic progenitors
SRP4754	Wnt-1 human	E. coli	Tissue homeostasis, tissue patterning and cell fate
SRP6560	Wnt-2 human	E. coli
GF154	Wnt-3a mouse	E. coli
GF146	Wnt-5a mouse	E. coli
SRP3296	Wnt-7a human	HEK 293

Stem cell research is controlled by physical and biochemical cues that direct them to become the specialized cells that make up the tissues in the body. Stem cell research is enhancing our understanding of how growth factors (biochemical cues) affect stem cell expansion and differentiation. This will enable subsequent use of stem cells in cell-based therapies, drug development, and disease modeling.

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Figure 2. This image shows cells derived from the culture of neural stem cells grown in the presence of EGF (E9644) and LIF (L5283). The cells were expanded in neural stem cell expansion medium (S3194) and then moved to conditions to allow them to differentiate. Differentiated cells were fixed and stained with an antibody for GFAP (an astrocyte marker in green, Product Number G9269). Actin is labeled with TRITC phalloidin (P1951) and the nuclei are labeled with DAPI (D8417).

References

1. Yu J, Thomson JA. 2008. Pluripotent stem cell lines. Genes & Development. 22(15):1987-1997. https://doi.org/10.1101/gad.1689808

2. Yin PT, Han E, Lee K. 2016. Engineering Stem Cells for Biomedical Applications. Adv. Healthcare Mater.. 5(1):10-55. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201400842