Adhesion-promoting factors laminins

The cells from the third category, such as epithelial cells isolated from mammal glands, testes, ovaries, pituitary gland, prostate, and from ocular tissue, generally proliferate with more difficulty in a defined medium. Besides maintenance factors, these cells may also need proteins from the ECM to promote their adhesion. Those proteins can be collagen, fibronec-tin, or laminin. Non-peptide factors, such as retinol (50 ng/ml) and corticosteroids (10-100 ng/ml), may also be necessary. 

Because of the limitations associated with traditional methods for stem cell cultivation, there is a need for novel technologies to facilitate large-scale, cost-effective and reproducible stem cell culture using xeno-free, defined components. Several commercially available, chemically defined culture media for stem cell culture are available [124]. These incorporate ECM components such as laminin, collagen type IV and heparan sulphate to promote adhesion and a variety of growth factors to stimulate cell growth and proliferation [125]. 

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