Adipose tissue stem cells: the great WAT hope

Abstract

The past decade has witnessed an explosion in research into adipose tissue stem cells (ASCs), facilitated by their ease of isolation from white adipose tissue (WAT) and fueled by their therapeutic potential. Recent developments have extended ASC multipotency to include endodermal and ectodermal cell types, along with generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. This expanding multipotency has been paralleled by burgeoning translational applications, ranging from tissue engineering to anti-cancer therapy, that are currently subject to clinical trials. However, this promise is tempered by potential pitfalls, such as tumorigenicity, and is further undermined by lingering uncertainties regarding the very identity of ASCs. Confronting these issues will be essential if we are to bypass the pitfalls and develop the promises of ASCs.

Adipose tissue-derived stem cells show considerable promise for regenerative medicine applications

“…Subsequent studies confirmed and supplemented these findings with regard to ASCs in mice. The relatively high efficiency of iPS creation from ASCs may be partly due to the high expression of pluripotency factors in ASCs, such as basic-FGF, TGFβ, fibronectin and vitronectin [8]. Obtaining iPSs is methodologically complicated and expensive, so a natural source of pluripotent stem cells is constantly being searched for.…”

“…Studies using in vitro conditions demonstrated their high plasticity and ability to differentiate into cells of ectodermal origin (neurons, oligodendrocytes and Schwann cells) and endodermal origin (pancreatic beta cells, hepatocytes and epithelial cells) [3,4,11,12]. The latest reports have extended our knowledge of the differentiation capability of ADSCs to include various types of epithelial cell, such as renal tubular epithelial cells and retinal pigment epithelial cells [8].…”

“…Somatic stem cells of mesenchymal origin have been identified in both types. WAT specializes in energy storage and the production and decomposition of fats, thus acting as the body's metabolic reserve [5,8]. Adipose tissue is currently the focus of considerable research because it has been recognized that its stromal-vascular cell fraction (SVF) can be an abundant source of multipotent and pluripotent stem cells and adipose-derived stem cells, also called adipose tissue-derived stromal cells (ADSCs) [14,15].…”

“…Furthermore, they stimulate the production of anti-inflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-10 (IL-10) through monocytes and T lymphocytes, which in turn secrete immunosuppressive factors, such as leukemia inhibitory factor (LIF), kynurenine (Kyn) and prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ). In terms of their functionality, ADSCs are immunologically privileged because they do not exhibit HLA-DR expression (major histocompatibility complex class II -MHC II), and they have the ability to decrease the proliferation of activated lymphocytes [4,8].…”

“…Many of these applications of ADSCs are still in clinical trials, and the mechanism of immunosuppression induced by ADSCs requires further study [8].…”