National stem cell bank adds new cell lines

Madison, Wis. - The National Stem Cell Bank, located at the WiCell Research Institute in Madison, has announced that it has received select human embryonic stem cell lines from Novocell, a stem cell engineering company based in San Diego.

With the addition of the new lines, the National Stem Cell Bank will have on deposit 14 of the 21 cell lines listed on the National Institutes of Health (NIH) federal registry. The bank will distribute the Novocell lines to researchers worldwide.

The NIH established the country's first - and so far, only - National Stem Cell Bank at WiCell, a supporting organization of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in September 2005. The bank's mission is to obtain, characterize, and distribute the 21 human embryonic stem cell lines on the NIH Stem Cell Registry that may be used in federally funded research.

WiCell researchers are working to characterize cells in the National Stem Cell Bank to support the development of human embryonic stem cells for research and therapeutic applications. The work includes trying to understand how each cell line behaves under different conditions in the laboratory; testing the cells for animal disease; and assessing their potential to become specific tissues such as heart, neuronal, or insulin-producing islet cells.

The results of these studies and tests are made available to the scientific community on the National Stem Cell Bank website. Related stories

• WARF enters licensing agreements for stem cell products

• Traveling stem cell show continues state tour

• Nation's only stem cell bank will receive UC-San Francisco cell line