Adipose-derived stromal cells: Their identity and uses in clinical trials, an update

Abstract

In adults, adipose tissue is abundant and can be easily sampled using liposuction. Largely involved in obesity and associated metabolic disorders, it is now described as a reservoir of immature stromal cells. These cells, called adipose-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) must be distinguished from the crude stromal vascular fraction (SVF) obtained after digestion of adipose tissue. ADSCs share many features with mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow, including paracrine activity, but they also display some specific features, including a greater angiogenic potential. Their angiogenic properties as well as their paracrine activity suggest a putative tumor-promoting role for ADSCs although contradictory data have been published on this issue. Both SVF cells and ADSCs are currently being investigated in clinical trials in several fields (chronic inflammation, ischemic diseases, etc.). Apart from a phase III trial on the treatment of fistula, most of these are in phase I and use autologous cells. In the near future, the end results of these trials should provide a great deal of data on the safety of ADSC use.

Adipose-derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells Are Phenotypically Superior for Regeneration in the Setting of Osteonecrosis of the Femoral Head

“…This finding is consistent with those of numerous studies corroborating this phenomenon in in vitro and animal studies [1,5,6,8,33]. Strioga et al [33] reported that this may be attributable to fewer in vivo cell division events for aMSCs, resulting in longer telomere lengths and greater reserve capacity.…”

“…Furthermore, these cells have a low immunogenicity profile and are capable of immunomodulation, increasing their clinical applicability [16,24]. aMSCs currently are being investigated in several clinical trials for multiple diseases including osteoarthritis (NCT01739504; NCT01585857), cartilage defects (NCT02090140), craniofacial bone and soft tissue injury (NCT01633892), Crohn's disease (NCT01157650; NCT01011244), urinary incontinence (NCT01799694; NCT01804153), graft versus host disease (NCT01222039), and multiple sclerosis (NCT0143764) (http://clinicaltrials.gov/) [5]. Although aMSCs certainly are more abundant than bmMSCs and hold theoretical promise for regenerative medicine, further phenotypic characterization is required to determine applicability in specific disease states.…”

Invited review: Pre- and postnatal adipose tissue development in farm animals: from stem cells to adipocyte physiology

“…Besides pre-adipocytes which are defined as immature cells already engaged in the Casteilla et al, 2011;Cawthorn et al, 2012). A common characteristic of all stem cells is that they can self-renew (make copies of themselves) and differentiate into various cell types when cultured in defined media (Figure 1).…”

“…The diversity of stem cell populations, the biological fates of each of these populations depending on the tissues where they are issued, and the flexibility in abundance and properties of these cell populations are thus bottlenecks to consider for a better understanding of the mechanisms governing adipose tissue development. However, one important point to consider is that available data are based mainly on the investigation of adult tissues and are dealing with cell-based therapies in human and veterinary medicine (Gimble et al, 2007;Casteilla et al, 2011;Arnhold and Wenisch, 2015). In contrast, farm animals are often taken to slaughter before they reach full maturity, so that dedicated studies are needed.…”

The Role of CCL5 in the Ability of Adipose Tissue-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells to Support Repair of Ischemic Regions

“…They can also differentiate into other types of cells, such as neurons, endothelial cells (ECs), and hepatocytes [1,2]. Due to their stem cell properties, MSC have become useful for clinical application in cell therapy [3,4].…”