Millipore Releases First Commercially Available Immortalized Human Neural Progenitor Cell Lines and Media

Millipore Corporation today announced the launch of the ReNcell™ product line, the only human immortalized neural somatic stem cell lines on the market today.

The ReNcell products are a convenient solution for scientists needing reproducible results with neurons easily derived from human cells. These progenitor cells are particularly useful in drug discovery applications, where the development of these pathways can be monitored during screening.

The ReNcell product line consists of two cell lines of immortalized human neural progenitor cells and media for the maintenance, expansion and freezing of the cells. These cell lines and media are available either individually or as a kit. This product line is a result of a distribution agreement announced earlier this year between Millipore Corporation and ReNeuron Group plc.

“We have been encouraged by the level of enquiries from potential customers for the ReNcell lines leading up to market launch, and we look forward to our continuing collaboration with Chemicon as the scientific research and commercial potential of these cell lines is realized in the months and years ahead,” said Michael Hunt, CEO of ReNeuron Group.

These immortalized human neural progenitor cells have the ability to readily differentiate into neural cell types and will replicate indefinitely. ReNcell immortalized cells display the same marker patterns as normal cells and are able to grow and remain stable after culturing.

“Neurons derived from these cells show physiological properties of mature neurons, which is significantly valuable when validating results,” said Michelle Greene, Millipore Marketing Director. “Even after prolonged passages, ReNcell cells maintain karyotype stability and will not differentiate without an external stimulus.”