European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A PILOT STUDY TO ASSESS THE POTENTIAL OF PLATELET LYSATE AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO FETAL BOVINE SERUM

Dr. Horne Iona Averal* and Cybil Ignatius

ABSTRACT

The culture of stem cells requires the addition of fetal bovine serum (FBS) in the culture media as a source of the required growth factors. However, the use of animal-derived supplement in clinical trials is unsafe as there is the possibility of immunoreactions and internalization of animal proteins by the human mesenchymal stem cells. Hence, there is a need to find better alternatives to FBS which are of human origin in order to avoid xenogenic contamination. One such alternative is the platelet lysate which has been proved to be a better alternative to FBS in the culture of human mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow. Thus this study aims at proving the efficiency of platelet lysate in the culture of mesenchymal stem cells from the human epidermis. The use of platelet lysate in the isolation of mesenchymal stem cells from human epidermis was successful and the isolated cells showed the properties of plate-adherence and fibroblast-like appearance which are characteristic of mesenchymal stem cells.

Keywords: Mesenchymal Stem cells, Fetal Bovine Serum, Platelet lysate, human epidermis.