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Human Keratinocyte Stem Cells (hKSC)

General Information
Adult stem cells are vital for tissue renewal and repair after injury due to its immortal nature
and its capability to give rise all cell types of a given tissue. Keratinocyte stem cells isolated
from the hair follicle are such example: multipotent, they generate all of the lineages of the
hair follicle and sebaceous gland. hKSC is offering Human Keratinocyte Stem Cells
(hKSC) isolated from hair follicle. These cells have unique proliferation and differentiation
capacities.
hKSC are useful for studies of intercellular interactions, epithelial differentiation, regulation
of cell survival and apoptosis, viral replication, and neoplastic transformation. They are also
the basic ingredient for making the skin equivalents in vitro. These skin equivalents have
found a wide range of applications in cosmetic, pharmaceutical and chemical industries, such
as the toxicity tests of chemical compounds.
Performance
Using an in-house technology and know-how, we can specifically target and enrich the
progenitor cell population for each sample of our keratinocytes. As results, our hKSC have the
following features:
Extensive proliferation capacity irrespective of donor age [1]
Very high population doubling [2]
A faster growth rate
An improved and uniform morphology
Better reproducibility
An extended shelf-life in culture
Description and Maintenance
hKSC are supplied in a cryogenic vial containing > 500,000 viable cells in a volume of 1 mL of
freezing medium. The vials with cryo-conserved cells will be shipped on dry-ice. Upon
arrival, the cells must be taken out and transferred to a storage facility with liquid nitrogen (-
196 °C).
General Media Requirements
In the absence of feeder cells, cultures of hKSC are best performed using hKSC
Growth Medium. This medium is serum free and ready to use. It is available in 125mL
format.
On feeder layer (i.e., 3T3), cells can be cultivated in high Ca2+ media as originally described
by Rheinwald and Green.[3]
Quality Control
All batches are performance-assayed and tested negative for HIV-1, mycoplasma, hepatitis-B,
hepatitis-C, bacteria, yeast and fungi.
[1] Limat A, Mauri D, Hunziker T, J. Invest. Dermatol. 1996, 107:128-135
[2] Claudinot S, Nicolas M, Oshima H, Rochat A, Barrandon Y, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2005, 102:14677-14682
[3] Rheinwald JG, Green H, Cell 1975, 6:331-344