A comparative assessment of adipose‐derived stem cells from subcutaneous and visceral fat as a potential cell source for knee osteoarthritis treatment

Abstract

The intra‐articular injection of adipose‐derived stem cells (ASCs) is a novel potential therapy for patients with osteoarthritis (OA). However, the efficacy of ASCs from different regions of the body remains unknown. This study investigated whether ASCs from subcutaneous or visceral adipose tissue provide the same improvement of OA. Mouse and human subcutaneous and visceral adipose tissue were excised for ASC isolation. Morphology, proliferation, surface markers and adipocyte differentiation of subcutaneous ASCs (S‐ASCs) and visceral ASCs (V‐ASCs) were analysed. A surgically induced rat model of OA was established, and 4 weeks after the operation, S‐ASCs, V‐ASCs or phosphate‐buffered saline (PBS, control) were injected into the articular cavity. Histology, immunohistochemistry and gene expression analyses were performed 6 weeks after ASC injection. The ability of ASCs to differentiate into chondrocytes was assessed by in vitro chondrogenesis, and the immunosuppressive activity of ASCs was evaluated by co‐culturing with macrophages. The proliferation of V‐ASCs was significantly greater than that of S‐ASCs, but S‐ASCs had the greater adipogenic capacity than V‐ASCs. In addition, the infracted cartilage treated with S‐ASCs showed significantly greater improvement than cartilage treated with PBS or V‐ASCs. Moreover, S‐ASCs showed better chondrogenic potential and immunosuppression in vitro. Subcutaneous adipose tissue is an effective cell source for cell therapy of OA as it promotes stem cell differentiation into chondrocytes and inhibits immunological reactions.

The relationship between synovial inflammation, structural pathology, and pain in post-traumatic osteoarthritis: differential effect of stem cell and hyaluronan treatment

“…Whether this relates to bona fide differences in therapeutic efficacy between MSCs derived from different tissues is unclear. MSCs are defined by the characteristics of self-renewal and multi-potent differentiation; however, cells from different strains of mice [43], different tissues [44], and tissue sites [45] within mice, and even subpopulations within a single tissue [46], show variability in their differentiation potential and associated cell-surface markers. The multi-potent MSCs used in the current study had poorer adipogenic compared with their osteo-and chondro-genic ability, and despite being~90% positive for the MSC marker Sca-1 (similar to previous OAtherapeutic studies using MSCs from bone marrow [43] or adipose tissue [23,24]), they had only modest CD29 expression and were negative for CD105.…”

Bone Marrow–Derived and Adipose‐Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy in Primary Knee Osteoarthritis: A Narrative Review

“…ADSCs also had positive effects on knee joint quality. Intra‐articular injections with these cells were shown to slow the progression of knee OA by limiting joint damage and cartilage degeneration . Li et al found that ADSC treatment showed significantly higher scores or better tissue preservation using a modified O'Driscoll histologic score when compared to the control group .…”

Molecular Mechanisms Contributing to Mesenchymal Stromal Cell Aging

“…This stress impacts on ASC mitochondria leading to DNA damage, telomere shortening, reduced proliferation and stemness (as evidenced by decreased expression of NANOG, SOX2 and OCT4), increased apoptosis and senescence [101]. Interestingly, differences are emerging in the performance of ASCs isolated from either subcutaneous or visceral fat and from different anatomical sites [102] or as a function of the metabolic status of the subject, with particular reference to obesity. White adipose tissue deregulation is pivotal in metabolic syndrome.…”