Electrical stimulation promotes the angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells

Abstract

Autologous fat transfer (AFT) is limited by post-operative volume loss due to ischemia-induced cell death in the fat graft. Previous studies have demonstrated that electrical stimulation (ES) promotes angiogenesis in a variety of tissues and cell types. In this study we investigated the effects of ES on the angiogenic potential of adipose-derived stem cells (ASC), important progenitor cells in fat grafts with proven angiogenic potential. Cultured human ASC were electrically stimulated for 72 hours after which the medium of stimulated (ES) and non-stimulated (control) ASC was analysed for angiogenesis-related proteins by protein array and ELISA. The functional effect of ES on angiogenesis was then assessed in vitro and in vivo . Nine angiogenesis-related proteins were detected in the medium of electrically (non-)stimulated ASC and were quantified by ELISA. The pro-angiogenic proteins VEGF and MCP-1 were significantly increased following ES compared to controls, while the anti-angiogenic factor Serpin E1/PAI-1 was significantly decreased. Despite increased levels of anti-angiogenic TSP-1 and TIMP-1, medium of ES-treated ASC significantly increased vessel density, total vessel network length and branching points in chorio-allantoic membrane assays. In conclusion, our proof-of-concept study showed that ES increased the angiogenic potential of ASC both in vitro and in vivo .

Electrospun Nanofibers for Improved Angiogenesis: Promises for Tissue Engineering Applications

“…Table 5 summarizes a list of experiments in which various cells/nanofibrous scaffolds were applied to improve angiogenesis. As electrical stimulation can promote the angiogenesis in different tissues and cell types (including the artery [214], skeletal muscle [215], peripheral nerve [216], wound healing [217,218], endothelial cells [219,220], human mesenchymal stromal cells [221], adipose tissue-derived stem cells [222], cardiomyocytes [223], and osteoblasts [224]), it may be useful to use electrospun conducting polymer nanofibers to obtain better in vitro and in vivo results in future investigations. However, there is some evidence of using conductive polymers in hydrogel constructs with pro-angiogenic potential (such as N-carboxyethyl chitosan and oxidized hyaluronic acid-graft-aniline tetramer [225], gelatin-grafted-dopamine and polydopamine-coated carbon nanotubes [226], and polypyrrole [227]), but there is a lack of research on such polymers incorporated in electrospun nanofibers with a pro-angiogenic approach.…”

Electrical Stimulation through Conductive Substrate to Enhance Osteo-Differentiation of Human Dental Pulp-Derived Stem Cells

“…Regarding the DCEF treatment, it can be either constant or in different waveforms, and the frequency of the electrical current may influence the biological effects [22]. Therefore, our previous study has treated rBMSCs using DCEF in different modes, including DCEF in constant and square waves in different frequency, offset, amplitude, and duty cycle [33].…”

“…In addition to chemical and biological inductions, physical cues are also applied for bone tissue engineering. Electrical stimulation (ES) has been proven to influence numerous cellular processes, including migration (via TORC2/PI3K), cell cycle, cell proliferation, and angiogenesis [20][21][22]. Therefore, different tissues, such as nerves, muscles, and cartilage, have been guided by ES to promote their development and regeneration [23].…”

Culture of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells on polyurethane/pyrrole surface promoted differentiation into endothelial lineage

“…Despite the importance of these scaffolds in the acquisition of normal myocardial electrical current, very few studies have been conducted on the application of electro‐conductive cell sheets in cardiac repair following ischemia 16,17 . It has been shown that electrical stimulation of certain stem cell types such as adipose‐derived stem cells can induce angiogenesis‐related proteins 18 . Besides, the exposure of neonatal rat ventricular myocytes can lead to expression of vasculature endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and it cognate receptor (VEGFR‐2) 19 …”