Comparison of lipoplasty technique effects on the cellular fate potential of adipose derived stem cells

Clinical use of stem cells provide undeniable advantages as they can substitute for injured cells, tissues, and even organs in the human body. Adult adipose‐derived stem cells (ADSCs), have vast potential for clinical medicine because they can easily be harvested from a patient and provide an autologous transplant option. Data gathered in our lab has shown that harvesting ADSCs using water‐jet assisted liposuction (BodyJet) with laser‐assisted lipoplasty (SmartLipo) techniques produces a high yield of viable stem cells. These isolated cells can be plated in monolayer culture and retain their stem cell phenotype. In this study, we test the differentiation abilities of these BodyJet/SmartLipo harvested cells following cryopreservation. Since the clinical use of ADSCs is highly indicated for orthopedic and arthritis applications, we tested the ability of the liposuction‐harvested ADSCs to differentiate along the chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages. In this study, we compare the cryopreserved primary human ADSCs to a normal human, mesenchymal ADSC line, to measure stem cell viability and differentiation following thaw. Utilizing confocal microscopy, real‐time PCR, cell counts, alizarin red and alcian blue staining, the stem cells show promise in their ability to differentiate along the chondrocyte and osteoblast lineages. These data support the clinically‐relevant idea that lipoplasty‐obtained ADSCs will retain multipotency.