Human Stem Cell Methods Featured In CSH Protocols

Main Category: Stem Cell Research
Article Date: 03 Sep 2008 - 16:00 PDT

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The use of human embryonic stem cells is opening new avenues for research, from the understanding of normal human development to the treatment of a wide variety of diseases. This month's issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (http://www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc9_08.dtl) features a set of articles written by Renee Reijo Pera and colleagues at Stanford University (http://www.stanford.edu/group/rpl/) detailing step-by-step instructions for the culture, differentiation and genetic analysis of human embryonic stem cells in the laboratory.

In somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), the nucleus of a somatic cell is transferred to an enucleated oocyte for reprogramming to an embryonic cell state. SCNT technology has been used to produce offspring, establish embryonic stem cells, and study epigenetic reprogramming in animal species. Noninvasive Human Nuclear Transfer with Embryonic Stem Cells describes a method for noninvasive human nuclear transfer by visualizing the oocyte spindle without DNA staining. The lack of staining is important, as previous methods using Hoecshst staining and ultraviolet light can lead to DNA damage. The protocol is freely accessible on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols.

The second featured human stem cell article, Culturing Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Feeder-Free Conditions, provides a method for growing human stem cells without the use of mouse or human feeder cells. This technique can be used for applications such as genetic modification of cells without feeder cell contamination. This method is freely accessible on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols.

About Cold Spring Harbor Protocols

Cold Spring Harbor Protocols is a monthly peer-reviewed journal of methods used in a wide range of biology laboratories. It is structured to be highly interactive, with each protocol cross-linked to related methods, descriptive information panels, and illustrative material to maximize the total information available to investigators. Each protocol is clearly presented and designed for easy use at the bench - complete with reagents, equipment, and recipe lists. Life science researchers can access the entire collection via institutional site licenses, and can add their suggestions and comments to further refine the techniques.

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About Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press

Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press is an internationally renowned publisher of books, journals, and electronic media, located on Long Island, New York. Since 1933, it has furthered the advance and spread of scientific knowledge in all areas of genetics and molecular biology, including cancer biology, plant science, bioinformatics, and neurobiology. It is a division of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an innovator in life science research and the education of scientists, students, and the public.

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