International stem cell registries.

Rapid advances in stem cell research have led to the derivation of hundreds of human embryonic stem (hES) cell lines in centers throughout the world, as well as the development of new technologies for producing pluripotent stem cells. These cell lines have unique characteristics and were derived using a variety of ethical guidelines. Stem cell registries have been developed in order to collect, organize, and disseminate cell line-specific information. In this review, we describe the current state of the field by providing an overview of the unique qualities and mandates of the three major stem cell registries: the European hES Cell Registry, the Registry of hES Cell Line Provenance developed by the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and the International Stem Cell Registry of hES and induced pluripotent stem cell lines established at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. While each registry has its own unique mandate and features, there is some overlap in the goals and information provided. This review discusses the challenges and prospects for an integrated approach in which all three registries effectively collaborate to minimize duplication and facilitate information exchange within the stem cell community.

The Characterization Tool: A knowledge-based stem cell, differentiated cell, and tissue database with a web-based analysis front-end.

In the rapidly growing field of stem cell research, there is a need for universal databases and web-based applications that provide a common knowledge base on the characteristics of stem cells, differentiated cells, and tissues by collecting, processing, and making available diverse types of characterization data. The Characterization Tool is such a novel knowledge database that allows the storage of various characteristics of cells, cell lines, and tissues across different species as well as the analysis of associated marker profiles. Its broad ontology-based framework facilitates the integration of characterization data on the morphological, molecular, and functional level acquired in vivo and in vitro including published marker expressions, cross-references to other databases, text descriptions, information on characterization experiments, and image storage. Data input and modification are recorded on the basis of a secure user management. By means of several easy-to-use data mining tools, marker profiles can be searched and analyzed. The Characterization Tool will aid in the establishment of standards for cell characterization, needed, for example, for stem cell isolation, propagation, and differentiation. The Characterization Tool is available at http://characterizationtool.cellnet.org. It currently holds more than 7000 marker expressions for different human embryonic stem cell lines, adult stem cells, and differentiated cells.

Integration of immunological aspects in the European Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry.

The immunological properties of stem cells are of increasing importance in regenerative medicine. Immunomodulatory mechanisms seem to play an important role not only with respect to the understanding of underlying mechanisms of autologous versus allogenic therapeutic approaches, but also for endogeneous tissue regeneration. The newly established European human embryonic stem cell registry (hESCreg) offers an international database for the registration, documentation and characterisation of human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and their use. By doing so, hESCreg aims to develop a model procedure for further standardisation efforts in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine, and eventually the registry may lead to a repository of therapy-related information. Currently the stem cell characterisation data acquired by the registry are divided into several categories such as cell derivation, culture conditions, genetic constitution, stem cell marker expression and degree of modification. This article describes immunological aspects of stem cell characterisation and explores the layout and relevance of a possible additional section to the hESCreg repository to include immunological characteristics of human embryonic stem cells.