Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic disorder, occurring in about 1 in every 700 live births and it is one of the leading clinical causes of cognitive delay.  DS is also increasingly recognized as a model system for early-onset Alzheimer Disease (AD).  Numerous laboratories in the US and abroad have developed stem cell models for Down syndrome. Studies on this complex disorder will likely require a number of different induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines derived from many different patient samples.  Differences in derivation methods, growth conditions, source cells and clonal variation all add variability to these cell lines that need to be documented.  In addition, the ongoing uses for the derived cell lines should be tracked. The Down syndrome Stem Cell Registry is committed to search for, compile, configure and continually update information on DS stem cell lines as a resource for the Down syndrome research and the broader biomedical research community.

Acknowledgement

The development of the Down syndrome Stem Cell Registry was made possible by funding from the Massachusetts Life Sciences Center and the UMass Chan Medical School.