Derivation and characterization of two sibling human embryonic stem cell lines from discarded grade III embryos.

Human embryonic stem (hES) cells are a valuable tool for studying human development in addition to their potential applications in regenerative medicine and drug discovery. The role of genetic background and epigenetic influences in development as well as in response to external influences such as drugs and therapies is well recognized. The great ethnic diversity in the Indian subcontinent translates to interindividual variability in drug response and disease susceptibility. For these reasons, new hES cell lines representing Indian genetic diversity will be valuable in studies of tissue-differentiation, cellular-function and for aspects of characterization of responses to drugs. We have derived two new hES cell lines, BJNhem19 and BJNhem20 from the inner cell mass (ICM) of discarded grade III human embryos that were not suitable for in vitro fertility treatment. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) isotype analysis shows that they are genetically distinct from existing hES cell lines. Short tandem repeat (STR) a...