Debrided Skin as a Source of Autologous Stem Cells for Wound Repair

Abstract

Major traumatic injuries to the body, such as large surface area burns, limit the availability of autologous stem cell populations for wound repair. This report demonstrates that even after severe burn trauma to the body, resident stem cells present within the subcutaneous adipose tissue survive and are available for therapeutic uses. Debrided skin from wounded areas contains subcutaneous adipose tissue and can yield approximately 1.5 × 105 to 2.5 × 105 cells per milliliter of tissue. This observation indicates that tissue, which is normally discarded, could be a valuable source of stem cells. Initial immunohistochemistry of the debrided tissue localized platelet‐derived growth factor receptor beta+ (PDGFR‐β+) cells to perivascular niches of vascular beds. It was immunophenotypically confirmed that the cell isolates are stem cells and designated as debrided skin adipose‐derived stem cells (dsASCs). Gene expression analysis of stem cell specific transcripts showed that the dsASCs maintained their stemness over serial passages. Furthermore, dsASCs were able to differentiate into adipogenic, osteogenic, and vascular cell lineages. Finally, an in vivo excision wound model in athymic rats demonstrated that the dsASCs are engrafted within a wound bed after 12 days. These data provide the first evidence that subcutaneous adipose tissue from discarded burned skin contains a viable population of stem cells that can be used for wound repair and skin regenerative therapies. STEM CELLS 2011;29:1219–1230

Uncultured adipose-derived regenerative cells (ADRCs) seeded in collagen scaffold improves dermal regeneration, enhancing early vascularization and structural organization following thermal burns

“…Cell therapy has emerged as a promising new approach to promote wound healing, replace damaged skin and promote skin regeneration [5][6][7][8][9]. Adipose tissue and ADRCs/SVF cells are of particular interest due to the accessibility of tissue through a minimally invasive liposuction procedure or derived from the eschar itself because of the high frequency of cells with regenerative capacity within the population [20,21]. ADRC therapy has been evaluated in several clinical trials as a means to promote tissue repair [8,[22][23][24].…”

Burn wound healing and treatment: review and advancements

“…A cultured skin substitute using adipose stem cells and keratinocytes has been developed that produces epidermal, dermal, and hypodermal stratification [152]. Moreover, human adipose stem cells that would normally be discarded have recently been isolated from debrided burn eschar tissue [153] and used to generate a tri-layered, vascularized construct [154]. Promising data with nonembryonic stems cells such as these have stimulated interest into future applications and development, and undoubtedly further investigations will produce exciting results.…”

Development of a Vascularized Skin Construct Using Adipose-Derived Stem Cells from Debrided Burned Skin

“…Alternatively, developing a tissue engineered skin substitute using stem cells proves to be a potential option to regenerate skin for the treatment of extensively burned patients [21]. In particular, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) have been shown to possess immense potential to regenerate skin because of their substantial plasticity to differentiate into multiple cell lineages [22].…”