Rabbit pluripotent stem cells: a promising and useful biotechnology tool

Marielle Afanassieff (1) , Lucie Gavin-Plagne (2) , Florence Perold (1) , Wilhelm Bouchereau (1) , S. Buff (3) , Thierry Joly (4) , Sylvie Rival-Gervier (1) , Nathalie N. Beaujean Bobineau (1)

1 SBRI - Institut cellule souche et cerveau / Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute
2 IMV Technologies
3 ICE - Interactions Cellules Environnement - UR
4 Isara

Embryo-derived (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) are both useful biotechnology tools in mice and promising therapeutic agents in humans. In rodents, they made it possible to develop animal models thanks to their ability to produce somatic and germline chimaera. In Humans, they are already involved in clinical trials for several degenerative diseases. Rabbit pluripotent stem cells (rbPSCs) differ from their rodent counterparts but are close to their primate counterparts. In the first part of this article, we describe the state of art of these rabbit cells as well as their future use in biotechnologies for the creation of organoids, bioreactors or animal models of human diseases and for the conservation of biodiversity. In the second part, we present the cryopreservation protocol we have developed in order to freeze rbPSCs without any animal products for health safety reasons.

Mots clés: Rabbit; Pluripotency; ESC; iPSC; Animal models; Organoids; Biodiversity; Cryopreservation

Domaines: Biotechnologies; Médecine vétérinaire et santé animale

Marielle Afanassieff, Lucie Gavin-Plagne, Florence Perold, Wilhelm Bouchereau, S. Buff, et al.. Rabbit pluripotent stem cells: a promising and useful biotechnology tool. 12th World Rabbit Congress, Nov 2021, Nantes, France. ⟨hal-03719986⟩