Human Activin A is a recombinant protein optimized for use in cell culture, differentiation studies, and functional assays.
Applications
Human Activin A can be used for a variety of applications, including:
Maintenance of pluripotency of embryonic stem cells under feeder- and serum-free conditions.
Differentiation of embryonic stem cells and iPS cells.
Stimulation and differentiation of mesenchymal cells.
Background information
Activin A is a member of the TGF-β superfamily and is involved in a wide range of biological processes like growth and differentiation of several tissues. It has been described to affect embryogenesis and hematopoiesis and is necessary for the maintenance of self-renewal and pluripotency of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). It supports long-term feeder and serum-free growth of hESCs. Activin A induces the expression of Oct4, Nanog, Nodal, Wnt3, FGF-2, and FGF-8 and suppresses the BMP signal. It also controls the expression and secretion of hormones like follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), prolactin, and ACTH (corticotrophin). The amino acid sequence of human, mouse, and rat activin A shares 100% identity.
Quality description
Research-grade
cytokines are suitable for a wide variety of cell culture applications. They are sterile-filtered prior to lyophilization. Generally, endotoxin levels are <0.1 ng/μg (<1 EU/μg), and purities are >95%. The biological activity is tested in appropriate bioassays.
Premium-grade
cytokines offer the convenience of high and well-defined biological activities and allow exact unit dosing for demanding applications. The biological activity is determined after lyophilization and reconstitution, and normalized to WHO/NIBSC standards whenever available. In general, endotoxin levels are <0.01 ng/μg (<0.1 EU/μg), and purities are >97%. Lot-specific certificates of analysis are available on request (macstec@miltenyibiotec.de).
Biological activity
Inhibition assay using MPC-11 cells (NIBSC 91/626)
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