Protein tag

Get tips on using The Premo Autophagy Tandem Sensor RFP-GFP-LC3B Kit to perform Autophagy assay cell type - MLO-Y4

Get tips on using TaqMan® MicroRNA Reverse Transcription Kit to perform siRNA / miRNA gene silencing Mouse - Glomerular mesangial cells HIPK2 Polymer / Lipid delivery

Get tips on using TaqPath™ BactoPure™ Microbial Detection Master Mix, no Rox to perform Cell Culture Contamination Detection Kit Bacteria

Get tips on using The Premo Autophagy Tandem Sensor RFP-GFP-LC3B Kit to perform Autophagy assay cell type - Human osteosarcoma cancer cells

Get tips on using Neural Progenitor Medium 2 to perform Stem cell Differentiation media Differentiation of Human PSC into Neural progenitor cells

Get tips on using STEMdiff™ Pancreatic Progenitor Kit to perform Stem cell Differentiation media Differentiation of Human hESCs into pancreatic progenitors

Get tips on using TaqMan™ Fast Universal PCR Master Mix (2X), no AmpErase™ UNG to perform PCR Multiplex PCR - Mammalian DNA

Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have been greatly used for studies on embryonic development and cell differentiation.iPSCs provide a stable source for either self-renewal or differentiation into suitable cells when cultured in a particular environment. Pluripotent cell culture was originally started by deriving cells from inner cell mass (ICM) from pre-implanted blastocysts, these were called embryonic stem cells. These cells after isolation can be grown on traditional extracellular matrices (like mouse embryonic fibroblasts, MEFs) or feeder-free culture systems. DMEM/F12 has been the most commonly used basal media in the culture of pluripotent cells. These cells are cultured at normal atmospheric oxygen levels, 21%, however, some studies have proposed that 4% oxygen tension may be better for hESC growth. Higher D-glucose concentration (4.2g/l) and osmolarity (320mOsm) that mimics the natural environment of embryonic tissue are optimal for the growth of hESCs. Supplements like N2 and/or B-27, in the presence of growth factors like bFGF, have been shown to increase pluripotency of these cells. bFGF, FGF2 and other ligands of receptor tyrosine kinases like IGF are also required or maintain self-renewal ability of these cells. TGF𝛃1, by its activation of SMAD2/3 signalling, also represses differentiation of iPSCs. Other compounds like ROCK inhibitors reduce blebbing and apoptosis in these cells to maintain their clonogenicity. However, an inhibitor for LIF (leukaemia inhibitory factor, which is one of the pluripotent genes) has an opposing effect. Therefore, it is important to understand the culture conditions and media composition that affect downstream signalling in hESCs or iPSCs that may lead to their differentiation.

Isolating DNA from tissues and paraffin-embedded tissue samples can be challenging as double-stranded DNA is physically fragile and highly susceptible to exo- and endonucleases. The best solution is to slice the tissues into smaller pieces and make a homogenate solution (using tissue homogenizer or grinding liquid nitrogen frozen samples) in the presence of DNAse inhibitors. Further, extracting DNA from the nucleus need specific methods by combining physical, mechanical and chemical lysis approaches,