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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Feb 12.
Published in final edited form as: Curr Stem Cell Rep. 2016 Feb 3;2(1):73–84. doi: 10.1007/s40778-016-0035-7

Table 1.

Representative list of stem cell culture substrates

Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
  Xenogenic Feeder Cells
MEF feeders ICM of blastocyst (derived lines H1, H7, H9, H13, H14) Continuously cultured and remained undifferentiated for over 8 months [7]
MEF feeders iPSC Remained undifferentiated and proliferated for at least 4 months [29]
MEF feeders hESC (derived HES-1, HES-2) Sustained culture for up to 64 passages [5]
Mouse fetal liver feeders (AFT024) CD34+ UC-HSPC More efficient engraftment in mice than human BM stromal cell monolayers [41]
PMVEC CD34+ UC-HSPC 470 fold increase in CD34+ CD38− population compared to stroma-free culture [40]
   Human Feeder Cells
Human Oviductal epithelial feeders ICM of blastocyst All cells differentiate after second sub-culture [27]
Human AFT epithelial feeders hESC (HES-3, HES-4) Self-renewal maintained for at least 20 passages [43]
Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
Human FM feeders hESC (HES-3, HES-4) Self-renewal maintained for at least 20 passages [43]
Human FS feeders hESC (HES-3, HES-4) Self-renewal maintained for at least 20 passages [43]
Human foreskin fibroblast feeders hESC (derived lines HS181, HS207) Self-renewal maintained for over 40 weeks [44]
hMSC feeders CD34+ UC-HSPC ~2–7 fold Increase LTC-IC population [83]
Human osteoblast feeders CD34+ BM-HSPC 8 fold increase in CD34+ population [36]
BM stromal feeders CD34+ BM-HSPC Supported HSPC culture for 5 weeks and maintained LTC-IC populations [84]
Human prostate CAF PC3 Enriched CD44hi/CD24lo CSC population [85]
Primary colonic human myofibroblasts Primary human colon carcinoma CSC differentiation prevented in 2D culture [86]
BM-hMSC SUM159, SUM149, MCF-7 Three-fold increase in cancer stem cell population to 14% of total population [87]
   ECM Coatings/Gels
Matrigel hESC (H1, H7, H9, H14) Sustained culture for up to 21 passages in defined media [45]
Combination of laminin, collagen IV, fibronectin, vitronectin hESC (H1, H9; derived WA15, WA16) Sustained culture for up to 7 months in defined media [45]
Matrigel hESC (H1, H7, H9, H14) Undifferentiated cells maintained for over 6 months with conditioned media [18]
Laminin hESC (H1, H7, H9, H14) Undifferentiated cells maintained for at least 7 passages with conditioned media [18]
Collagen IV hESC (H1, H7, H9) Some undifferentiated colonies present after 6passages with conditioned media [18]
Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
Fibronectin hESC (H1, H7, H9) Some undifferentiated colonies present after 6 passages with conditioned media [18]
Vitronectin hESC (HUES1, HES2, HESC-NL3) Sustained culture for up to 12 weeks in defined media [21]
Laminin hESC (HUES1, HES2, HESC-NL3) hESC growth not supported in defined media [21]
Fibronectin hESC (HUES1, HES2, HESC-NL3) hESC growth not supported in defined media [21]
Collagen IV hESC (HUES1, HES2, HESC-NL3) hESC growth not supported in defined media [21]
Fibronectin hESC (I3, I6, H9) Sustained undifferentiated hESCs for up to 38 passages with growth factor addition [46]
Chitosan/Alginate scaffold hESC (BG01V) Maintained for 21 days in culture in defined media [88]
Gelatin hESC (I3, I6, H9) 70% more differentiation after 6 days compared to fibronectin coating [46]
Laminin-511 hESC (HS420, HS207, HS401), iPSC (BJ#12, LDS1.4) Self-renewal maintained for over 4 months [47]
Laminin-521 + E-Cadherin hESC (H1, HS401) Efficient derivation and self-renewal of hESCs for over 20 passages with high cloning efficacy [48]
A variety of ECMs and sera coatings hESC (HS237, HS293, HS360, HS401, Regea 06/105, HS237) All substrates tested were significantly inferrior to Matrigel in maintaining hESC cultures [50]
Vitronectin coated TCPS hESC (H9, H14), IPSC (iPS(IMR-90)-3, iPS(IMR-90)-4, iPS(foreskin)-2) Maintained for 9 passages [89]
Vitronectin coated UVPS iPSC Sustained culture for up to 2 months [49]
Puramatrix™ Synthetic ECM + hMSC feeders CD34+ BM-HSPC Increased LTC-IC population [90]
Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
Fibrin gel + hMSC feeders CD34+ UC-HSPC More efficient CD34+ population enhancement than collagen I or polymer scaffolds [91]
Fibronectin conjugated PET film CD34+ UC-HSPC 19 fold increase in CD34+ cells [92]
Fibronectin adsorbed PET fibers CD34+ UC-HSPC 2 fold increase in CD34+ cells [92]
Fibronectin conjugated PET fibers CD34+ UC-HSPC 100 fold increase in CD34+ cells, with 45 foldincrease in LTC-IC population [92]
Collagen conjugated PET fibers CD34+ UC-HSPC 73 fold increase in CD34+ cells with 4 fold increase in LTC-IC population [92]
Fibrin Gel A2780, HepG2, Primary Patient Formed spheroids indicating enrichment of CSC [93]
Laminin coated TCPS Primary Brain Tumors (derived G144, G166, G179) Supported cell lines consisting mostly of glioma neural stem cells [61]
Collagen Scaffold MCF-7 Increasedangiogenic GF and MMP expression and enhanced CD44+/CD24− population [94]
Fibronectin coated PDMS SUM159, MDA-MB-468 No enrichment of CSCs, not affected by stiffness [95]
BSA coated PDMS SUM159, MDA-MB-468 More than doubled CSC population, not affected by stiffness [95]
Collagen coated PDMS SUM159, MDA-MB-468 No enrichment of CSCs, not affected by stiffness [95]
Laminin-511 coating CD44+/CD24− Src-transformed MCF10A, SUM 1315 Increased adhesion and enhanced TAZ gene expression [62]
FBS coated PCL fibers MCF-7, T47D, SK-BR-3 Three-fold increase in proportion of ALDH+ cells, increased mammosphere formation [96]
Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
  Peptide Modified Surfaces
BSP-PAS hESC (H1, H7) Undifferentiated cells maintained for over 16 passages in defined media [68]
VN-PAS hESC (H1, H7) Undifferentiated cells maintained for over 16passages in defined media [68]
sFN-PAS hESC (H1, H7) No cell adhesion observed [68]
lFN-PAS hESC (H1, H7) No cell adhesion observed [68]
LM-PAS hESC (H1, H7) No cell adhesion observed [68]
Peptide SAM microarray hESC (H1, H9) Cell adhesion observed with integrin binding peptides, but these peptides did not effectively maintain hESCs. Heparin-binding peptide sequences bound cells and allowed for self-renewal. [69]
GKKQRFRHRNRKG SAM hESC (H1, H7, H9, H14), iPSC (IMR-90, DF19-9 7T) Heparin binding peptide SAM sustained undifferentiated cells for 2–3 months [69]
Amine functional TCPS modified with CRGD hESC (H9, H14) Continuously cultured and remained undifferentiated for at least 10 passages. Superior cell adhesion compared to linear RGDS sequence. [66]
VN-pDA-PS hESC (H9), iPSC Sustained culture for over 3 months in defined media [97]
FN patterned PEGDA CD34+ UC-HSPC Enhanced adhesion, no effect on stemness [98]
OPN patterned PEGDA CD34+ UC-HSPC Enhanced adhesion, no effect on stemness [98]
RGD patterned PEGDA CD34+ UC-HSPC Enhanced adhesion, no effect on stemness [98]
RGDSK-PEG-Acrylate hydrogel + hMSC feeders CD34+ UC-HSPC Increased expansion, CD34+ expression, and early progenitor cell population [71]
RGD conjugated PEGDA 4T1, MCF-7 Decreased CD44hi/CD24lo sub-population of breast cancer cells [70]
Culture Substrate Cell Type Highlighted Results Reference
FHBP conjugated PEGDA 4T1, MCF-7 Enriched CD44hi/CD24lo sub-population of breast cancer cells [70]
CD44BP conjugated PEGDA 4T1, MCF-7 Decreased CD44hi/CD24lo sub-population of breast cancer cells [70]
 Fully Synthetic Polymer Hydrogels
PMEDSAH hESC (BG01, H9) Pluripotency maintained for over 20 passages, up to 10 passages in defined media [74]
APMAAm hESC (H1s, H9-hOct4-pGZs) Sustained culture for over 20 passages in defined media [78]
PMVE-alt-MA hESC (HUES1, HUES9), iPSC Increased endogenous ECM production, maintained pluripotency for five passages [79]

The strategies outlined in the table have been used to create microenvironments, which expand stem cell populations while preserving their phenotype. Comparing the strategies of culturing different types of stem cells reveals common elements, indicating advances in culturing one type of stem cell may have implications in other stem cell fields as well. However, it should be noted that the use of different growth factors, medias, or culture techniques may contribute to some of the observed results. However, the purpose of this table is to highlight the different substrates, and the similarity between different stem cell types, used in culturing of a variety of stem cells.

Abbreviations: MEF=mouse embryonic fibroblast, ICM=inner cell mass, hESC=human embryonic stem cell, iPSC=induced pluripotent stem cell, UC=umbilical cord, HSPC= hematopoietic stem progenitor cell, PMVEC=porcine microvascular endothelial cell, FS=fetal skin, FM=fetal muscle, hMSC=human mesenchymal stem cell, BM=bone marrow, LTC-IC=long term culture initiating cells, CAF=cancer associated fibroblast, CSC=cancer stem cell, TCPS=tissue culture polystyrene, PET=polyethylene terephthalate, GF=growth factor, MMP=matrix metalloprotease, ECM=extracellular matrix, PDMS=polydimethylsiloxane, UVPS=ultraviolet-ozone treated polystyrene, BSA=bovine serum albumin, FBS=fetal bovine serum, PCL=polycaprolactone, BSP=bone sialoprotein derived peptide, VN=vitronectin derived peptide, sFN=short fibronectin binding peptide, lFN=long fibronectin binding peptide, LM=laminin derived peptide, PAS=peptide-acrylate surface, OPN=osteopontin, FN=fibronectin, SAM=self-assembled monolayer, pDA=polydopamine, PS=polystyrene, PEG=polyethylene glycol, FHBP=fibronectinheparan binding peptide, CD44BP=CD44 binding peptide, PEGDA=polyethylene glycol diacrylate, PMVE-alt-MA= poly(methyl vinyl ether-alt-maleic anhydride), APMAAm=aminopropylmethacrylamide hydrogel, PMEDSAH=poly[2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl dimethyl-(3-sulfopropyl)ammonium hydroxide]