EBiSC has a catalogue of cell lines available at https://ebisc.org. This contains a complete list of cell lines that can be filtered and searched by cell line name, disease, primary cell type, donor sex, reprogramming method and even specific genes which are known to be carrying disease associated mutations in a specific cell line. This creates a list of cell lines that match your specified criteria, clicking a specific cell line name will open a cell line information page with further information.
If you are struggling to find an iPSC line which matches your requirements, please contact us and our team will be happy to help you.
Yes, EBiSC is happy to help users generate new iPSC lines. We have a number of specialist research teams within EBiSC who can generate iPSCs in line with EBiSC Quality standards. EBiSC is happy to act as a non-profit intermediary between yourself as a user and these teams. Please contact us if you would like to EBiSC to connect you with a relevant team to perform this activity as a fee-for-service activity.
All cell line batches are subjected to a standard set of quality control assays and only lines which pass are released for distribution. These tests include:
Any additional characterisation data available for a particular cell line will also be displayed on the EBiSC catalogue, for example see the cell line page for UKKi007-B.
Yes, EBiSC has a network of specialist clinicians who may be able to help you collect patient samples for iPSC generation in a specific disease background. Please contact us with specific information on the donor cohort you need iPSC lines from.
The EBiSC Catalogue has information on any genetic modifications which have been performed on an iPSC line. Gene-edited lines can be found by checking the box “Gene-edited” in the Gene(s) of interest filter on the left side of the catalogue (https://ebisc.org/search?q=&gene-edited=true). A list of cell lines with gene-edits will be shown in the search result. On the specific cell line page, details about the modified gene and any disease associated with that genetic modification are detailed at the bottom of the cell line page, for example: https://ebisc.org/SIGi001-A-14#genetic-modification
Each cell line page also has further details on what has been modified, how the modification was performed and the resulting genotype.
If you are struggling to find an iPSC line which matches your requirements, please contact us and our team will be happy to help you.
Cell line identity is recorded on all EBiSC lines using standard 16 allele Satellite Tandem Repeat (STR) testing. The STR profiles of specific lines can be shared directly to users after cell lines are accessed. The STR profiles must only be used for cell line authentication.
Please contact us to receive the relevant profile after you have received your cell line(s).
Each cell line batch has a Certificate of Analysis that can be downloaded from each cell line page on the EBiSC Catalogue. This contains details from our cell line characterisation and quality control results. It also contains the passage number, culture conditions and any cell line specific information about morphology and growth patterns. Please see an example Certificate of Analysis.
EBiSC has simplified the feeder-free culture conditions of the iPSC lines it provides. Each cell line can be cultured using a core set of defined media/matrix combinations, including use of mTeSRTM1 and Essential 8TM media and Matrigel/Geltrex and Vitronectin matrices. The conditions recommended for your chosen cell line(s) are detailed in the batch specific Certificate of Analysis that accompanies the line(s) and on the specific Cell Line page on the website. Instructions on the different culture protocols can be found in the EBiSC Protocol for Culture of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells document. This covers all the different media/matrix combinations.
Cells are typically thawed into 1 to 2 well(s) of a 6 well plate coated with the appropriate matrix. You must check the Certificate of Analysis for cell line specific guidance. General thawing and culture instructions can be found in the EBiSC Protocol for Culture of induced Pluripotent Stem Cells, available on the website.
All lines are cryopreserved in DMSO based cryoprotectant. Please refer to your Certificate of Analysis for cell line batch specific details. Please see an example Certificate of Analysis here.
EBiSC iPS cell lines are typically cryopreserved with between 1 and 2 million cells per vial.
The basic transfer fee for general EBiSC iPS cell lines is £1400 per vial. Gene edited iPSC lines are £1700 per vial. EBiSC-NEUR1 is £1127 per vial. This facilitates the not-for-profit operations of the Bank, including maintenance of facilities and the expansion and Quality Control of EBiSC iPSCs.
For a full description please download the tutorial PDF.
When you have selected one or more lines listed in the EBiSC catalogue, and reviewed the specific Cell Line Information Pack that accompanies each, you can use the access buttons located on the cell line page to be taken to the EBiSC distribution website to access the line. If you are new to the EBiSC distribution website, you will be asked to register as a new user. Upon placing your order, you must download three documents from the cell line catalogue page: 1) the EBiSC Access & Use Agreement (AUA; see an example Access & Use Agreement here); 2) Cell Line Information Pack ((see an example CLIP here); and 3) the Organisation Evaluation Form. The AUA and CLIP must be completed by your organisation and submitted to EBiSC along with appropriate transfer fee prior to shipment of the cells. For further information on access related questions please contact EBiSC directly.
For all iPSC lines which have been deposited into EBiSC, a review has been carried out to ensure that at the point of primary tissue procurement, consent was obtained in line with EBiSC requirements. EBiSC has also developed its own templates which, when used by the procuring organisation, can greatly simplify the process, available here. These have gained a positive ethics opinion for collection of blood or skin samples from adults aged 18-75. Users are welcome to use these templates to develop consent documents for their own sample collection activities. Please note that local consent documents based on these templates still need to be ethically reviewed according to local regulations.
Where contributors have used their own consent documents, these will have been reviewed to ensure that following aspects are covered:
The standard shipment method for less than 20 vials within Europe will be on dry ice. Alternative preferences such as use of a Dry Shipper can be discussed with EBiSC at the point of access.
Shipping costs will be calculated based on the country of the shipping destination, at the time of placing an order. For further information on access related issues please contact EBiSC directly.
HiPSC lines deposited into EBiSC are named using the recognised system developed by hPSCreg, the human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry.
The hPSCreg catalogue uses a systematic naming scheme which identifies the depositor and the fact the line is an iPSC. The name indicates:
For example, the first clone from the second donor from the Universitätsklinik Bonn is UKBi002-A.
Some line names may have a final number appended to them to indicate a sub-clone, such as might be generated via gene editing a line. The first gene edited isogenic control of this line denoted as UKBi002-A-1.
For more information on cell line nomenclature please visit the hPSCreg website. This system is also detailed in Kurtz et al, 2018.
No. The depositor remains the owner of the cell line. You, as a user, are granted a right to use the banked material for research purposes. The ‘research use’ permitted by the EBiSC Access & Use Agreement includes research involving development of products, as well as steps involved in making products fit for commercial market, including procedures for protection of intellectual property (e.g. filing for patents) related to novel IP generated during the course of the work. One exception to ‘research use’ is that a User may not conduct research activities under contract to third parties external to its organisation. To use EBiSC cell lines to provide ‘fee for service’ research activities (drug screening, for example) a User would be required to obtain the approval of, or enter into separate legal arrangements with, the Depositor of the cell line. Users must also adhere to any Third Party Obligations as outlined in the Cell Line Information Pack received with the EBiSC Access & Use Agreement.
The ownership of the material which results from a gene editing experiment is determined by a number of factors. Where the changes to the cell line result in a substance that is significantly different from the original banked material, it is considered a ‘derivative’, which you would own. Such a substance might be i. derived from, ii. a modification of, iii. a product of the use of, or iv. wholly or partially incorporate, the original cell line. Any Third Party Obligations originating from production of the original parental iPSC line are still applicable to sub-clone derivatives.
EBiSC encourages commercial organisations to use EBiSC cell lines for research purposes, both basic and developmental. The ‘research use’ permitted by the EBiSC Access & Use Agreement includes research which aims to develop products as well as steps involved in making them fit for commercial market, including procedures for protection of intellectual property (e.g. filing for patents) related to novel IP generated during the course of the work.
One exception to ‘research use’ is that a User may not conduct research activities under contract to third parties external to its organisation. To use EBiSC cell lines to provide ‘fee for service’ research activities (drug screening, for example) a User would be required to obtain the approval of, or enter into separate legal arrangements with, the Depositor of the cell line.
EBiSC iPSC lines can be used by commercial companies for research purposes only, under the standard EBiSC Access & Use Agreement. This ‘research use’ includes research which aims to develop products as well as steps involved in making them fit for commercial market. However, under the standard EBiSC Access & Use Agreement, a user cannot use EBiSC lines for commercial purposes. This includes ‘fee for service’ research activities, such as differentiating EBiSC iPSC lines and/or performing drug screening activities for a third party, for a fee.
To use EBiSC lines for commercial purposes such as those outlined above, the user must obtain approval of, or enter into separate legal arrangements with, the Depositor of the specific cell line(s). Please contact us if you have specific cell line(s) which you wish to discuss commercialisation of, with the Depositor.
One of EBiSC’s main goals is to increase the accessibility of quality iPS cell lines to researchers and promote their use in disease modelling and other forms of biomedical research. The use of EBiSC cell lines is however bounded by certain parameters that users should be aware of:
1. Research use only. At present, all cell lines in the EBiSC catalogue are ‘research grade’, not ‘clinical grade’, and are thus for research use only. Uses of EBiSC lines in clinical procedures, or for the purpose of human reproductive cloning, are prohibited.
2. No ‘fee for service’ research activities. The ‘research use’ definition adopted by EBiSC permits public and private sector research, but doesn’t include research activities if they are carried out under commercial contract to third parties. Fee for service activities might include, for example, iPS cell differentiation into a specific cell or tissue type to enable a researcher to run drug screening assays. Users wishing to conduct fee for service contract work or otherwise carry out direct exploitation of EBiSC cells should contact the Depositor of the cell line to negotiate a commercial agreement.
3. Local law and regulations. Depending on the legal jurisdiction in which research is conducted, local laws and regulations may impose different and potentially more restrictive norms of conduct on research than are anticipated by EBiSC policies. Users should inform themselves therefore, before ordering EBiSC cell lines, about any applicable rules or informal guidance that might define or limit the use of such cell lines in the intended place of use.
4. Obligations of the Depositor to third parties. EBiSC discourages Depositors from imposing their own criteria for use of cell lines that they deposit voluntarily with the Bank, but is realistic about the fact that Depositors may be legally bound to third parties, such as patent or other rights holders, to pass on certain obligations to the User. EBiSC passes on to the User information about these obligations provided by the Depositor (such as a requirement to contact the rights holder, or enter into a new licence to use the cell lines) using the Cell Line Information Pack available on each cell line page, before an EBiSC AUA is entered into.
5. Respect for donor-imposed restrictions. Third party obligations would include any constraints on the use of cell lines defined by the donor of original tissue from which the iPS cells originate. As far as possible, EBiSC cell lines will be supported by the consent of the primary tissue donor to allow all types of iPSC research anticipated for EBiSC Users. In some cases, however, cell lines will be of sufficient research interest to be placed in the catalogue despite limitations imposed by the donor such as a specification of academic use, or research in a specific disease category. In these instances, the User will be made aware of the donor’s wishes using the Cell Line Information Pack available on each cell line page, and take sole responsibility for respecting them.
The vast majority of EBiSC lines can be accessed directly from EBiSC. However, a small number of lines have restrictions on their distribution, meaning that they are not stored at EBiSC's banking facilities and EBiSC cannot oversee the cell line distribution. Instead, you will be directed towards a different institution to request access for the lines. In this instance, the EBiSC Access and use agreement is not applicable and terms of use should be discussed directly with the host institute.
Commercial users (for-profit entities) will, prior to receipt and use of this EBiSC Cell line, need to have an appropriate patent license from iPS AJ even for its research use.
Academic users (academic or not-for-profit entities) will not need a patent license from iPS AJ for its research use. However, if the academic user uses this EBiSC Cell line for a purpose other than independent research use, the academic user might need to obtain an appropriate patent license from iPS AJ. For inquiries to iPS AJ, please contact at license@ips-ac.co.jp.
Any public dissemination of research activities using either EBiSC iPSC lines and/or datasets accessed through the EBiSC Data Access Committee must include (i) the relevant EBiSC cell line name(s), (ii) the relevant cell line Biosamples ID(s), (iii) if relevant, the EGA data identifier(s) and lastly, (iv) a note that iPSC lines and/or datasets came from EBiSC. Please use the following wording: “The EBiSC Bank acknowledges [depositor name] as the source of the human induced pluripotent cell line[s] [cell line name] which [was/were] generated with support from EFPIA companies and the European Union (IMI-JU’) and [name of other known funders] - delete if not required.”
Biosamples ID can be found on the specific cell line page at https://ebisc.org, please contact us if you have any issues locating this information.
This information must be included in the main text of any publications.
The EBiSC Data Access Committee (DAC) controls access to a number of genomic (e.g. Whole Genome Sequencing) and clinical datasets, which are stored in linked data repositories. To gain access to these datasets, please see instructions here.
Because the lines in EBiSC are deposited from a range of sources and were generated across many different research projects, EBiSC cannot always control the passage numbers of the vials received. However, we strive to keep them as low as possible and in addition, each batch undergoes robust qualification including checking chromosomal health (e.g. through G-Banding or SNP array). You can find the batch specific passage number of the vials you have received on your Certificate of Analysis.
The Certificate of Analysis (CoA) is a batch specific record of the quality control performed by EBiSC prior to lines being distributed to users. This is available for download from the cell line webpage on the EBiSC catalogue. if the CoA required is not available via the website then you can request contacting EBiSC
The EBiSC Access and Use Agreement (EAUA; see an example Access & Use Agreement here) is an overall transfer agreement between the EBiSC Bank Entity and the iPSC user(s). This EAUA details how EBiSC iPSC lines can used and a single EAUA can be completed to access lines from many different depositors. The Cell Line Information Pack (CLIP, example CLIP here) contains cell line specific information such as consent based restrictions for use and licensing obligations which must be passed onto users. Both the EAUA and CLIP have to be completed together, before EBiSC iPSCs can be shipped.
How long you should keep EBiSC-NEUR1 in culture depends primarily on your experimental goals. Previous studies performed by EBiSC and partners have demonstrated functional neuronal networks at 21 days after thaw when cultured with human iPSC-derived astrocytes.
More information on the background of the originating iPSC line is available on the EBiSC catalogue, which also lists related publications detailing the generation of the iPSC line and use of the neurons in experimental applications.
General thawing and culture instructions can be found in the EBiSC Protocol for Culture of EBiSC-NEUR1, available here. EBiSC recommends to culture EBiSC-NEUR1 cells with primary astrocytes or hiPSC-derived astrocytes to improve long-term survival and functional network activity. The culture medium needs to be individually defined based on the glial cultures used. Functional network activity may be increased by supplementing the culture medium with 20 ng/ mL brain-derived neurotrophic factor, 20 ng/ mL glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor, 200 µM ascorbic acid and 1 mM dibutyryl cyclic-AMP.
General thawing and culture instructions can be found in the EBiSC Protocol for Culture of EBiSC-NEUR1, available here.
EBiSC-NEUR1 are typically cryopreserved to provide at least 4 million viable cells per vial, upon thaw.
EBiSC-NEUR1 cells show a limited proliferative capacity, however EBiSC does not recommend the passage and expansion of the cells due to a low survival and re-attachment capacity after enzymatic detachment.