European registry for human stem cell lines
The scientific, clinical and commercial utility of stem cells requires that scientific personnel adhere to certain ethical and regulatory standards. Furthermore, validated scientific information about the cells is essential for their standardised, reproducible and comparable usage. For this purpose, a European human pluripotent stem cell registry was established in 2006. In recent years, the explosion in human embryonic stem cells (hESC) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC) research for clinical applications has increased usage of this registry. To meet these needs, the registry needs to have better functionality, database design, registration facility and content usability. To address this, the EU funded the EU-HPSCREG(opens in new window) (European human pluripotent stem cell registry) initiative. The EU-HPSCREG team wanted to promote access to stem cell lines and facilitate the dissemination and harmonisation of research involving pluripotent stem cells. Project members developed detailed criteria for registration, qualification and validation of hPSC and hiPSC. For circulation of the information, partners completely recreated the web-interface of the registry, establishing efficient tools for communication. The consortium has laid down a code of conduct for the operational procedures and policies of the registry. Considerable effort has also gone into the database and portal design including the online registration tool as well as a standardised nomenclature for pluripotent stem cells. In addition, the registry established collaboration with Elsevier to promote publication of information about available pluripotent cell lines. A comprehensive cell registry is an enormously important tool. Research utilising pluripotent stem cells provides the possibility of gaining insight into human development, paving the way for novel therapies. Collaboration with other EU-funded projects and community interaction should help disseminate registry information and promote harmonised research in the stem cell field.
