{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,28]],"date-time":"2026-08-28T19:17:43Z","timestamp":1787944663136,"version":"build-2784847793"},"reference-count":21,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"17","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787616000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000900","name":"California Institute for Regenerative Medicine","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["DISC2-14090"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DISC2-14090"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000900","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["DISC2-14090"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["DISC2-14090"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/033m8b439","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["P30CA016042"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P30CA016042"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000002","name":"National Institutes of Health","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","award":["S10OD038259"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S10OD038259"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000002","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]},{"award":["P30CA016042"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P30CA016042"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01cwqze88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["S10OD038259"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["S10OD038259"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01cwqze88","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Cells"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) are powerful tools for disease modeling and therapeutic development, though their utility remains sensitive to operator-dependent variability and media formulation. Commercial stem cell media formulations, such as mTeSR+ and StemFlex, are designed to support robust pluripotent stem cell maintenance and improve reproducibility. While both are widely used, direct comparisons are limited. We evaluated mTeSR+ and StemFlex using the CellXpress.ai automated tissue culture platform in combination with IN Carta machine-learning-based image analysis to monitor and standardize feeding, passaging, and maintenance. Wild-type iP11N hiPSCs were cultured under standardized automated conditions with growth kinetics, immunocytochemical marker expression, and RT-qPCR assessment. Automated analysis revealed no significant differences in proliferation rates between the formulations; however, longitudinal image-based quantification identified statistically significant differences (&lt;1%) in differentiated cell area fraction across the imaging period. Immunocytochemistry demonstrated comparable expression and localization of pluripotency-associated markers, and RT-qPCR analysis confirmed similar expression of stemness factors. These findings demonstrate that both media support comparable growth and maintenance of pluripotency under standardized automated conditions on iP11N wild-type stem cells in the short-term culture conditions analyzed. Additionally, these data highlight the value of automated imaging and machine-learning-based analysis in reducing operator-dependent variability and improving consistency in hiPSC culture, supporting its application in high-throughput stem cell research.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/cells15171533","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,25]],"date-time":"2026-08-25T15:01:07Z","timestamp":1787670067000},"page":"1533","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Machine Learning-Driven Automated Culture Reveals Similar Performance of mTeSR+ and StemFlex in Human iP11N Pluripotent Stem Cells"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Aleksander A.","family":"Bogoniewski","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Molecular and Medical Pharmacology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"},{"name":"Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Melissa F.","family":"Gonzalez","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"},{"name":"Department of Biology, California State University, Northridge, Los Angeles, CA 91330, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"conceptualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3130-6390","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rachel E.","family":"Reyes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"},{"name":"Broad Stem Cell Research Center, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Susanna F.","family":"Rivera","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Surgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90024, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-6697-9166","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Cameron","family":"Taylor","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"investigation","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0000-4216-6998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Todd","family":"Schurr","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"California NanoSystems Institute, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA 90095, 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