Title:
Engineering a Platform to Harness Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Paracrine Factors

dc.contributor.advisor McDevitt, Todd C.
dc.contributor.author Wilson, Jenna L
dc.contributor.committeeMember Botchwey, Edward A
dc.contributor.committeeMember Roy, Krishnendu
dc.contributor.committeeMember Sambanis, Athanassios
dc.contributor.committeeMember Waller, Edmund K
dc.contributor.department Biomedical Engineering (Joint GT/Emory Department)
dc.date.accessioned 2017-01-11T13:59:09Z
dc.date.available 2017-01-11T13:59:09Z
dc.date.created 2015-12
dc.date.issued 2015-11-10
dc.date.submitted December 2015
dc.date.updated 2017-01-11T13:59:09Z
dc.description.abstract The results of initial stem cell transplantation studies indicate that many of the observed functional improvements are due to transient paracrine actions of the transplanted stem cells, rather than the stem cells permanently engrafting and replacing the damaged cellular material. Thus, research on the identity and potency of paracrine factors secreted by stem cells has become an increased area of focus in the regenerative medicine field. Due to the mitogenic and morphogenic roles of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) during the early stages of development, they are an underexplored cell population which likely possess a unique and potent secretome. A potential application for the milieu of mitogens and morphogens produced by pluripotent stem cells is the restoration of the proliferative and regenerative capacity of adult stem cell populations, as these multipotent cells have a limited ability for expansion outside the body and are also negatively regulated by dysfunctional signals in vivo which are implicated in the reduced capacity for regeneration with injury or aging. To take advantage of the stimulatory potential of pluripotent cell-derived signals, the goal of this project was to develop a controlled means of harnessing and delivering soluble factors derived from pluripotent stem cells. This objective was accomplished through the (1) development of a microencapsulation-based culture system for ESC aggregates, (2) design of a novel upstream bioreactor for encapsulated ESC culture which enabled the concentration and delivery of stem cell secreted products, (3) characterization of the global expression profile of ESC-secreted factors, and (4) investigation of the influence of ESC-derived factors on adult stem and progenitor populations. Ultimately, this project established pluripotent stem cells as a unique source of potent growth factors and cytokines which can be regulated and concentrated using engineering design parameters to enable multiple applications in the field of regenerative medicine.
dc.description.degree Ph.D.
dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1853/56201
dc.language.iso en_US
dc.publisher Georgia Institute of Technology
dc.subject Stem cells
dc.subject Bioprocessing
dc.subject Bioreactor
dc.subject Pluripotent stem cells
dc.subject Microencapsulation
dc.subject Ex vivo expansion
dc.title Engineering a Platform to Harness Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Paracrine Factors
dc.type Text
dc.type.genre Dissertation
dspace.entity.type Publication
local.contributor.corporatename Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering
local.contributor.corporatename College of Engineering
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication da59be3c-3d0a-41da-91b9-ebe2ecc83b66
relation.isOrgUnitOfPublication 7c022d60-21d5-497c-b552-95e489a06569
thesis.degree.level Doctoral
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