STEM CELL BIOENGINEERING

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STEM CELL BIOENGINEERING Cláudia Lobato da
Silva Research activities at Centro de
Engenharia Biológica e Química
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Stem Cell Bioengineering
Control of self-renewal versus differentiation
Large-scale ex-vivo expansion systems
Stem Cell Bioengineering
STEM CELL BIOENGINEERING
Determining the molecular and cellular mechanisms
of stem cell expansion/differentiation and
controlling culture conditions in an ex-vivo
microenvironment THE BIOREACTOR.
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Stem Cell Expansion/Differentiation whats the
need?
GOAL increase the number of stem cells available
(which is limited) while maintaining their in
vivo engraftment potential and/or induce
controlled cell differentiation into specific
cell types.
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Main Research Topics

• Ex-vivo expansion of hematopoietic stem and
  progenitor cells from human bone marrow and
  umbilical cord blood
• co-culture with mesenchymal stem cell-derived
  stroma
• culture in stroma-free conditions.

Ex-vivo expansion and neural differentiation of
mouse embryonic stem cells and mouse neural stem
cells
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Ex-vivo Expansion of Hematopoietic Cells in
Serum-free Medium
Lobato da Silva, C. et al, Experimental
Hematology 33 828-835 (2005)
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Predictive Modelling
Kinetic modeling can provide a significant
insight into the "limiting steps" involved in the
hematopoietic hierarchy and into the influence of
conditions affecting the expansion process.

Predictive Modeling
Lobato da Silva, C. et al, Bioprocess Biosystems
Eng., 25, 365-369 (2003)
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Modelling
BM Modeling Results
Lobato da Silva, C. et al, Bioprocess Biosystems
Eng., 25, 365-369 (2003)
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Embryonic Stem Cell Expansion on microcarriers
under stirred conditions
Fernandes, A.M. et al, Journal of Biotechnology
(accepted for publication) (2007)
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Embryonic Stem Cell Expansion on microcarriers
under stirred conditions
Fernandes, A.M. et al, Journal of Biotechnology
(accepted for publication) (2007)
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Acknowledgments
Financial Support Fundação para a Ciência e
Tecnologia, Ministério da Ciência Tecnologia e
Ensino Superior
Collaborations University of Nevada, Reno,
USA Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Albany,
USA Institute of Molecular Medicine
(IMM) Crioestaminal - Saúde e Tecnologia S.A.