Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Basement Membrane Extract (BME), PathClear®

Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Basement Membrane Extract (BME), PathClear® is a soluble form of basement membrane purified from Engelbreth-Holm-Swarm (EHS) tumor. The extract gels at 37 °C to form a reconstituted basement membrane. Mainly comprised of laminin, collagen IV, entactin, and heparin sulfate proteoglycan Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified BME has been shown to provide an effective feeder-free surface for the attachment of and maintenance of human embryonic stem cells in a pluripotent state, thereby enabling its use for growth promotion or for study of stem cell differentiation.  

The PathClear® designation means that in addition to standard sterility, endotoxin and MAP testing, the BME is tested by PCR and is clear of 31 pathogens and viruses, including LDEV.  Each lot is rigorously qualified in biological performance assays.

Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Protein Set

Trevigen’s Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Protein Set was created to help researchers in choosing optimal coating conditions for feeder-free culture of stem cells of interest.
Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Protein Set contains 5 different extracellular matrix proteins:

• Human Basement Membrane Extract (BME)
• Human Fibronectin
• Human Vitronectin
• Mouse Reduced Growth Factor BME
• Mouse Laminin I

Each of these proteins was qualified in feeder-free cell culture to support human embryonic stem cells in the undifferentiated state for multiple passages.

Cultrex® Stem Cell Qualified Human BME, PathClear®

Basement membranes are continuous sheets of specialized extracellular matrix that form an interface between endothelial, epithelial, muscle, or neuronal cells and their adjacent stroma. Basement membranes are degraded and regenerated during development and wound repair. They not only support cells and cell layers, but they also play an essential role in tissue organization that affects cell adhesion, migration, proliferation, and differentiation. Basement membranes provide major barriers to invasion by metastatic tumor cells. Cultrex® Human Basement Membrane Extract (BME) is a soluble form of basement membrane purified from human placenta. BME can be used for promotion and maintenance of an undifferentiated phenotype, or for the directed differentiation of precursor cells, under a variety of cell culture conditions, including stem cells, primary epithelial cells, endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells