No abstract

Human adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were differentiated into chondrogenic MSCs, and fibrin glue was used together to explore the feasibility of whether cartilages can be generated in vivo by injecting the differentiated cells. Mesenchymal stem cells extracted from human adipose were differentiated into chondrogenic MSCs, and such differentiated cells mixed with fibrin glue were injected subcutaneously into the back of the nude mouse. In addition to visual evaluation of the tissues formed after 4, 8, and 12 weeks, hematoxylin-eosin staining, Masson trichrome staining, measurement of glycosaminoglycan concentration using dimethylmethylene blue, agreecan through reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, type II collagen, and expression of SOX-9 were verified. Moreover, the results were compared with 2 groups of controls: 1 control group that received only injection of chondrogenic-differentiated MSC and the supporting control group that received only fibrin glue injection. For the experimental group, cartilage-like tissues were formed after 4, 8, and 12 weeks. Formation of cartilage tissues was not observed in any of 4, 8, and 12 weeks of the control group. The supporting control group had only a small structure formation after 4 weeks, but the formed structure was completely decomposed by the 8th and 12th weeks. The range of staining dramatically increased with time at 4, 8, and 12 weeks in Masson trichrome staining. The concentration of glycosaminoglycan also increased with time. The increased level was statistically significant with more than 3 times more after 8 weeks compared with 4 weeks and more than 2 times more after 12 weeks compared with 8 weeks. Also, in reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction at 4, 8, and 12 weeks, all results expressed a cartilage-specific gene called aggrecan, type II collagen, and SOX-9. The study verified that the chondrogenic-differentiated MSCs derived from human adipose tissues with fibrin glue can proliferate and form new cartilage. Our findings suggest that formation of cartilages in vivo is possible.

To investigate whether diabetes mellitus affects the wound‐healing‐promoting potential of adipose tissue‐derived stem cells, we designed a wound‐healing model using diabetic mice. We compared the degree of wound healing between wounds treated with normal adipose tissue‐derived stem cells and wounds treated with diabetic adipose tissue‐derived stem cells. We evaluated the wound‐healing rate, the epithelial tongue distance, the area of granulation tissue, the number of capillary and the number of Ki‐67‐stained cells. The wound‐healing rate was significantly higher in the normal adipose tissue‐derived stem cells group than in the diabetic adipose tissue‐derived stem cells group; it was also significantly higher in the normal adipose tissue‐derived stem cells group than in the control group. Although the diabetic adipose tissue‐derived stem cells group showed a better wound‐healing rate than the control group, the difference was not statistically significant. Similar trends were observed for the other parameters examined: re‐epithelisation and keratinocyte proliferation; granulation tissue formation; and dermal regeneration. However, with regard to the number of capillary, diabetic adipose tissue‐derived stem cells retained their ability to promote neovasculisation and angiogenesis. These results reflect the general impairment of the therapeutic potential of diabetic adipose tissue‐derived stem cells in vivo.

In this study, the authors investigated the effects of adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) and of their extract on wound healing. After creating wound healing splint model on the backs of mice, ADSCs and their extract were applied. Wound healing rates were calculated at 3, 5, 7, 10, and 14 days after the wounding, and tissues were harvested at 7 and 14 days for histological analysis. Wound healing rates were significantly higher at 7, 10, and 14 days in the cell group than in the control, but in the cell extract group wound healing rates were significantly decreased (P<0.05). Histological scores and capillary densities in the cell group were significantly higher at 2 weeks (P<0.05). In the cell group, thick inflammatory cell infiltration and many capillaries were observed at 1 week, and thick epithelium and numerous large capillaries were observed at 2 weeks. The present study suggests that ADSCs accelerate wound healing as known, and the effects of ADSCs on wound healing may be due to replacing insufficient cells by differentiation of ADSCs in the wound and secreting growth factors by differentiated cells, and not due to the effect of factors within ADSCs.

Onychomatricoma is a rare tumor of the nail matrix. Until now, few cases of onychomatricoma have been reported in the literature. Immunohistochemically, CD10, a marker of the onychodermis, is expressed in the stroma of the onychomatricoma. In the present case, a 27-year-old woman presented with an 8-year history of a yellowish, thickened, and overcurved nail plate of the right index finger, mimicking onychomycosis. She had been treated for 4 years with antifungal agents by general physicians, without improvement. The nail was surgically removed, and the tumor at the nail matrix was excised. The nail plate continued to grow in the 2 months after the excision. This is a case of onychomatricoma in South Korea, which was initially misdiagnosed as onychomycosis. In addition, we present a review of the literature regarding clinical, sonographic, and histological features, differential diagnoses, and treatment of onychomatricoma.

Various methods have been introduced to assess the tissue volume because volumetric evaluation is recognized as one of the most important steps in reconstructive surgery. Advanced volume measurement methods proposed recently use three-dimensional images. They are convenient but have drawbacks such as requiring expensive equipment and volume-analysis software. The authors devised a volume measurement method using the Image J software, which is in the public domain and does not require specific devices or software packages. The orbital and breast volumes were measured by our method using Image J data from facial computed tomography (CT) and breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The authors obtained the final volume results, which were similar to the known volume values. The authors propose here a cost-effective, simple, and easily accessible volume measurement method using the Image J software.

The authors' method for preoperatively measuring breast volume on three-dimensional simulated magnetic resonance imaging scans was both efficient and accurate. It would therefore be useful for achieving better aesthetic outcomes of breast reconstruction.

In this study of a developed soft tissue filler, adipose tissue equivalents were constructed using adipose stem cells (ASCs) and micronized acellular dermal matrix (Alloderm). After labeling cultured human ASCs with fluorescent green protein and attaching them to micronized Alloderm (5×105 cells/1 mg), ASC-Alloderm complexes were cultured in adipogenic differentiation media for 14 days and then injected into the dorsal cranial region of nude male mice. The viabilities of ASCs in micronized Alloderm were determined at 1, 4, 7, and 14 days, and complexes, which had been cultured for 14 days and implanted in vivo for 2 months, were histologically evaluated by light, confocal, and scanning electron microscopy. The viabilities represented that ASCs in micronized Alloderm were alive during the culture period. ASC-Alloderm complexes cultured for 14 days contained round cells with large lipid vesicles by light microscopy and many spherical cells by SEM. ASCs in implanted ASC-Alloderm complexes harvested from mice at 2 months postinjection were histologically found to have differentiated into adipocytes which had green fluorescence dye. Micronized Alloderm may be found useful as scaffold for human ASCs when constructing fat tissue for three-dimensional soft tissue filling. The present study suggests that ASC-Alloderm complexes can be used as injectable three-dimensional soft tissue fillers.