Adipose-derived Stem Cell

Stem cells derived from adipose tissue offer an easily accessible source of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine. A small amount of fat, which contains the stem cells, can be extracted from a patient’s abdomen, or other area with fatty tissue deposits, in a short and minimally painful procedure. The cells are then able to be cultured within just a few hours for use in treatment. Adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) are mesenchymal stem cells and are able to form a variety of tissue types given specific chemical and mechanical stimuli (Gimble, et al, 2007).

Not Just a Fat Transfer

Using adipose tissue as a source of stem cells differs from currently available autologous fat transfer procedures which may be used during reconstructive breast surgery or for other surgeries to repair soft-tissue defects. These treatments are highly variable as many of the fat cells transplanted do not survive, meaning that a high volume need to be used initially to produce a reasonable outcome in most cases. Adipose-derived stem cells may even be able to be used to create customized autologous reconstructed adipose tissue for fat transfer procedures (Vallée, et al, 2009). Breast augmentation techniques using adipose-derived stem cells are also becoming increasingly popular although patients should ensure that their surgeon is board-certified and trained as there are only a limited number of plastic surgeons who have studied these techniques.

Fat Stem Cell Differentiation

ASCs have been shown to differentiate into chondrocytes, osteoblasts, adipocytes, neuronal cells, and muscle cells under controlled conditions and researchers are investigating different ways to encourage particular cell growth patterns in the laboratory and after the ASCs have been transplanted. For example, adipose-derived stem cells placed in an environment with low oxygen tension, alongside bone morphogenetic protein-6, or with biologically compatible scaffolds were induced to differentiate into chondrocytes in a study by Guilak (et al, 2010) and the hope is that this will enable to development of practical treatments for musculoskeletal conditions such as osteoarthritis.

Adipose Stem Cell Research Using Liposuction Fat

Some researchers have even used donated liposuction fat for research on stimulating differentiation in adipose-derived stem cells. However, those with seemingly little fat will still have enough to provide a usable source of stem cells should they ever need to. A recent advancement in culturing adipose-derived stem cells means that this source is actually preferable to the previously-used skin stem cells for a lot of researchers as the ASCs form a larger number of induced pluripotent stem cell colonies, without the need for a feeder protein, in about half the time that it takes to culture skin stem cells. The feeder-free technique also removes the potentially problematic use of a mouse-derived protein that may have prevented research being approved by the FDA (Sun, et al, 2009).

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