BioCentury
ARTICLE | Tools & Techniques

Taking out teratoma potential

August 25, 2011 7:00 AM UTC

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have developed an approach for separating human pluripotent stem cells from teratoma-forming cells in culture.1 The group thinks the procedure could help allay tumorigenicity concerns associated with stem cell-derived therapies and plans to use the approach to test existing therapeutic-grade stem cell-derived pancreatic cells and neural progenitors for their teratoma-forming potential.

When researchers differentiate pluripotent of stem cells, a trace number may remain in an undifferentiated state. These undifferentiated cells can form teratomas in animals.2 Teratomas are tumors that contain cells derived from all three germ tissue layers...