Title of paper: Multipotential differentiation of adipose tissue-derived stem cells
Authors: Brian M Strem, Kevin C Hicok, Min Zhu, Isabella Wulur, Zeni Alfonso, Ronda E Schreiber, John K Fraser and Marc H Hedrick
Tissue engineering offers considerable promise in the repair or replacement of diseased and/or damaged tissues. The cellular component of this regenerative approach will play a key role in bringing these tissue engineered constructs from the laboratory bench to the clinical bedside. However, the ideal source of cells still remains unclear and may differ depending upon the application.
Current research for many applications is focused on the use of adult stem cells. This review will highlight the use of adipose or fatty tissue as a reservoir of adult stem cells and draw conclusions based upon comparisons with bone marrow stromal cells.
The properties of adult stem cells that make them well-suited for regenerative medicine are ease of harvest for autologous transplantation, high proliferation rates for ex vivo expansion and multilineage differentiation capacity.
White adipose tissue has the ability to dynamically expand and shrink throughout the life of an adult. This capacity is mediated by the presence of vascular and non-vascular cells that provide a pool of stem and progenitor cells with unique regenerative capacity. This review will describe the recent preclinical research focused on these stem cells and identify potential clinical applications.
