Mild Hypothermia Inhibits Differentiation of Human Embryonic and Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

Abstract

Culture of pluripotent stem cells at 35°C strikingly reduces unwanted spontaneous differentiation during hESC and iPSC maintenance compared with 37°C. Growth at 35°C did not affect expression of pluripotency mRNAs nor induce expression of cold-inducible genes. Colony size was somewhat reduced at 35°C. Thus, growth at 35°C is a convenient, simple method to reduce the labor of removing spontaneously differentiated colonies when maintaining pluripotent cells.

Keywords

• temperature
• culture
• unwanted differentiation
• spontaneous differentiation
• cold-inducible gene